Worth the Risk
by ForeverSam
Summary: Rukia and Ichigo decided five years ago that they would take a chance and be together. But now the stakes are higher, and the world they've come to love is about to crash down around them IxR - Sequel to What Happened Last Night - Complete!
1. Had It

**Author's Note**: Gah, I'm such a softy. I said I was gonna wait a week to throw this one up, but I couldn't resist. Anyways, welcome to "Worth the Risk" the (for some odd reason) awaited sequel for "What Happened Last Night" (God I had fun doing that story XD). Anyways, a few quick points before we start

**Point 1**: As I stated in the summary, this story takes place five years after the events in "What Happened Last Night". So here's a list of ages for you to go by:

_Ichigo, Orihime, Uryu, Chad_: 20

_Rukia_: Well, technically 125, but let's call _her_ 20 as well

_Yuzu & Karin_: 16

And that's everyone important, I believe. Okay, moving on

**Point 2**: This story _starts_ in the summertime, around mid/late-June. So while everyone is still in school (yes, I sent Ichigo and Rukia to college), they won't be at the start. Oh, and they still live in Karakura Town. Okay, that's all, I'll stop boring you. On with the story! Oh, wait...

**Disclaimer**: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH. Happy? Now I'm depressed. Oh, just read!

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**Worth the Risk**

_By: ForeverSam_

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**Chapter 1** – Had It

Ichigo Kurosaki smiled in his sleep. At the moment he was having a particularly wonderful dream that involved his girlfriend of five years. And he would have liked to continue enjoying said dream. But fate – being the cruel mistress that she was – had other ideas.

Ichigo jerked awake as he felt a small foot connect with his knee. Every freaking morning, for the past two weeks, she'd managed to kick him as she darted out of bed. How did she do it? Did she do it on purpose? Ichigo thought so; he knew she enjoyed torturing him.

He sat up, rubbing sleep out of his amber eyes. For the past two weeks, said girlfriend – more commonly known as Rukia Kuchiki – had been darting into the bathroom every morning to throw up. And while Ichigo was really worried about her (as far as he could tell there was absolutely nothing wrong with her, after all) he had to admit, he thought she rather enjoyed hitting him as she ran out.

Sighing, Ichigo pulled himself out of bed and walked across the hall to the bathroom. He and Rukia had been living together for two years; ever since they'd graduated high school. They'd found a small apartment that was just within their price range (Ichigo worked; Rukia didn't, but that was understandable), and had instantly taken it.

He carefully pushed open the bathroom door and stepped in. Rukia, it appeared, was done throwing up, and was now just kneeling on the floor, her arms wrapped tightly around her upper body. "Hey," he kneeled down next to her, trying to be tender. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head and leaned against his shoulder, eyes closed. He laid a tentative hand on her forehead. No fever. She hadn't had a fever for the last two weeks. And yet every morning it was always the same. Ichigo had the bruise on his knee to prove it.

"Come on," he reached over and flushed the toilet, then carefully pulled her to her feet. "Let's just...get you back into bed"

For the first, and probably only time in her life, Rukia didn't struggle against Ichigo's helping hands, and instead allowed him to lead her back to their room. Though she did mutter, "I don't _need _you to help me," to which Ichigo responded by pulling his hands away from her just a little, just enough for her to sway. He grabbed her again before she fell. She glared at him but allowed him to lead her back to bed.

He helped her under the covers and tucked her up to her chin. All though it was summer time, she was still shivering terribly. Sighing, Ichigo retrieved another blanket from the closet and put it over her as well. She rolled over so she was facing the wall, her eyes closed. Ichigo ran an absent minded hand through her raven hair. He _hated_ seeing her like this. She was still shivering, and looked awfully pale, even for her. "I'm gonna call my dad," he said finally, standing up, "Rest, okay?"

His words were useless, really, considering she was practically already asleep. He walked out into the living room and grabbed the cordless phone off the small table next to their couch. He dialed his house's number, and waited through three rings before a perky Yuzu picked up. "Hello, Kurosaki residence!"

Not questioning why Yuzu was up, or finding it at all odd that she was so hyper, Ichigo said, "Hey, Yuzu"

"Oh, hi Ichigo! What's up?"

"Do you know if Dad has any appointments this morning?" Yuzu did all the scheduling for the clinic, she _would_ know.

"I think his earliest is noon"

"Do you think he'd be willing to see Rukia sometime before then?"

"Mmm, probably," Yuzu said after a moment's thought, "Why, is she sick?"

"Not sure; she's been throwing up a lot, but she doesn't have a fever"

"Well, bring her by, I'm sure Dad won't mind. She's practically family, after all"

"All right," Ichigo nodded, knowing full well Yuzu couldn't see him, "She's sleeping right now, but I"ll make sure to bring her in before noon"

"Okay, bye Ichigo!"

"Bye," he hung up and ran a hand through his spiky orange hair. He was really worried about Rukia. He didn't like to think about her being sick. He went back to his room, and saw that she was now fast asleep. Satisfied, he smiled tiredly and crawled into bed next to her. He needed a few more hours as well...

What felt like minutes later, Ichigo felt something poking him. "Ichigo"

He groaned and rolled over, swatting Rukia's hand away. She poked him again, harder. "Ichigo. Did you call your dad?"

"Yes I called my dad. Go away," he pushed her hand away again.

"What'd he say?"

"I talked to Yuzu. We have to go over before noon"

"Don't you think you should get up then?"

"Rukia..."

"Well, I'm just saying. I mean, it's already quarter past eleven..."

"That's nice..." then her words registered. "WHAT?!"

He shot up, and Rukia winced, grabbing her head. "Don't yell so loud," she muttered. Ichigo looked over at the alarm clock on the bed-stand. Sure enough, it read eleven-fifteen.

"Why didn't someone wake me up sooner?" he groaned, climbing out of bed. "When did _you_ wake up?"

"Just now," Rukia fell back on her pillow and pulled the blanket over her head. Ichigo quickly changed into a pair of pants and a white t-shirt, then grabbed the blankets and yanked them away. Rukia groaned and curled up in a tiny ball.

"Come on," he said, sitting down next to her and pulling her up, "I'd look pretty stupid going over there alone, considering I told Yuzu _you're_ the one who's sick"

"Am I?" she finally pulled herself out of bed and got dressed.

"Well, I assume you are," Ichigo shrugged, "I mean, why else would you be throwing up and always tired?"

Rukia imitated his act of shrugging and went in hunt of some shoes. Luckily it wasn't that long of a drive to the clinic.

Rukia fell asleep on the way over, and Ichigo almost hated to wake her again when they arrived. "Rukia," he shook her arm, "Come on. We're here"

She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she pulled her head from the window. "Why am I so tired all of a sudden?" she muttered as Ichigo got out of the car and walked around to her side. "I'm perfectly capable of walking," she added when he opened her car door. He shrugged and let try to walk on her own, but they hadn't even gotten halfway up the path when her knees buckled. She refused to be carried, of course, but used Ichigo as support the rest of the way.

Yuzu frowned when they walked into the clinic, and stood up from her desk. "Oh Rukia, you really don't look well," the teenager had concern etched all over her face, "Come on, Dad's waiting in one of the rooms. Ichigo are you..."

Rukia looked back at him, her eyes pleading with him to follow. So, being the ever lasting sucker that he was, he followed his sister and Rukia into a smaller room. "So you decided to come!" Isshin Kurosaki said brightly. Ichigo glared at his father. How could he be so happy?

Yuzu helped Rukia onto the bed, and gave a quick bow before leaving. Ichigo stood next to the bed and Rukia slipped a small hand into his own, larger one. "So," Isshin tapped the clipboard he was holding with a pen, "What are your symptoms?"

"Well, I've been throwing up a lot, and I've felt so tired lately, and..." the rest of her sentence was cut off by a small yawn. Isshin just nodded as he wrote.

"Have you been sick recently?"

She shook her head

"Been near anyone who was sick?"

Rukia frowned, deep in thought. "Well...we saw Orihime and Uryu a few weeks back, and I think Orihime said she had a cold...but that wouldn't cause vomiting, would it?" she looked over at Isshin, who shook his head.

"All right then," he finished writing on his clipboard, "I'm gonna have to take some blood, just to run a few tests. Hang on a sec..."

He went over to the counter and started grabbing the stuff he needed. When he held up the needle, Rukia's grip on Ichigo's hand tightened quite painfully. He knew she hated needles. Right when it felt like his fingers were about to break, Isshin walked back over, and Rukia released Ichigo's hand. Flexing his fingers, he watched as his dad carefully stuck the needle in Rukia's arm (he had to give her credit, she was good at hiding the fact she didn't like it). "Ichigo, grab a cotton ball and put it over the spot when I pull out the needle"

Ichigo did as he was told. After a minute Isshin told his son to pull the cotton ball away, and put a band-aid on Rukia's arm. Said girl now looked exhausted again, and leaned her head against Ichigo's shoulder. "It'll take about half an hour to run all the test," Isshin said, "If you want you could hang around here until they're done. Or maybe you'd rather go home..."

"I'd like to go home," Rukia said in a quiet voice before Ichigo could say he'd rather stay. He scowled. Rukia was the one who was sick, he had to give her what he wanted. Damn, he'd be happy when she was better.

"All right then," he said, pulling her to her feet. She wobbled slightly, but stayed up. He glared at his dad. "But you'd better call us as soon as you get the results"

"Don't worry; I will"

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**Author's Note**: Now, I know none of you are stupid, and know exactly what's wrong with Rukia. And I do _not _want to hear that this is an overused idea. I never even wanted to post this to begin with. So unless you can give me one _damn good_ reason to keep it up, the chances of it disappearing from the Bleach Archive are _very_ high. So, let's say...between five and ten reviews saying I should keep this, and I'll think about it (yes, I'm doing review limits for this story; those worked out very well with "What Happened Last Night") – Sam 


	2. Run That By Me Again

**Disclaimer: **Thinking of taking Kubo Tite to court and suing for the rights to Bleach. But until that actually happens, I don't own it

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**Chapter 2** – Run That By Me Again

Rukia sighed and snuggled a little closer to Ichigo. The two had gone home and dropped onto the couch, taking the time to turn on the TV before they got comfortable. Ichigo, of course, fell asleep. Rukia tried, but found that, even though her body felt exhausted, sleep just would not come. So instead she contented herself to just sitting there, leaning comfortably against Ichigo, trying to enjoy the life she and her boyfriend had made for each other.

It seemed so weird that only five years prior, the two of them hadn't even _thought_ about getting together. And they probably never would have if a party and some spiked punch hadn't led to the two of them waking up in Ichigo's bed together, with no clue how either had gotten there. True, a dream they both had later that day revealed the more...intimate parts of what had happened the night before. But somehow they both always felt as if it were just a dream. A dream they'd both had. That'd had the exact same details.

Okay, so they'd slept together. Even five years later, they were no closer to admitting it, considering how young they had been (well, how young _Ichigo_ had been, anyway).

Rukia sighed again and leaned her head against Ichigo's chest. He was snoring lightly, and Rukia had to admit, it sounded kind of funny. She suppressed a giggle, trying to let him sleep. She knew he was tired, though maybe not as tired as she was...

The young woman frowned as her mind once again traveled back to her mysterious illness. She had a very good idea of what _might_ be wrong with her. But she didn't want to think about that. She couldn't think about that. Not with the risks that were associated with it. True, she and Ichigo had decided five years ago that it'd be worth the risk to be together. But even risks had their limit.

Just as Rukia was drifting off to sleep, the phone rang. Annoyed, Rukia jerked awake and grabbed it before it woke up Ichigo. "Hello?" she said quietly, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"Rukia? It's Isshin," Rukia blinked. Oh. Right. The test results. She stood up and quickly walked over to the hallway.

"Okay," she said, keeping quiet and hoping she didn't sound too nervous. "Is it...is it bad?"

"Well, it depends on what your idea of bad is," Isshin sounded slightly amused, "Rukia...you're pregnant"

The phone nearly slipped out of Rukia's hand. "Oh...Oh _God_..."

"Hey, it's Ichigo's right?"

What kind of ridiculous question was that? "Uh, yeah, it's Ichigo's..."

"All right!" Isshin hollered, "Karin, Yuzu, you're going to be aunts!"

Rukia heard Yuzu squealing in the background, and Karin saying, "He's going to be a _father_? That poor kid isn't even born yet, what'd he do to deserve such a horrible punishment?"

Rukia tried not to laugh. Even she had to admit, the idea of Ichigo being a father _was_ kind of funny. "Well then," she said after a second, "T-Thank you for telling me. I mean, for letting me know"

"Are you okay?" Isshin switched back to his 'serious' mode, "I thought you'd be happy"

"I am, I mean-"

"Didn't really think about a baby?"

Rukia felt her shoulders fall. "No," she said in a quiet voice.

"Well don't worry," Isshin said confidently, "We're all behind you over here, right girls?"

"Right!" Yuzu chirped.

"You can come to us if you need help"

Rukia smiled, despite herself. Ichigo really_ did _have such a loving family. "Thank you," she said, feeling a little better. Not much, though. "I'd better...tell Ichigo. Thank you again Mr. Kuro-"

"Oh come on now!" Isshin protested at once, "I think you can call me Isshin, considering you're having my grandchild!"

This time Rukia _did_ laugh. "Okay. Thank you Isshin. Bye"

She hung up, feeling upset again. A baby? Her and Ichigo? For one thing, they certainly weren't ready to be parents. They were both still in college for heaven's sake! They lived in a small apartment which, granted, had two rooms, but they were both extremely small. Ichigo was the only one with a job, because Rukia had never been able to pick up the concept of any kind of work other than her Soul Reaper duties, which unfortunately didn't pay much (or anything at all).

And that led to another problem. The Soul Society. They would never allow this child to be born. A pregnancy between a Soul Reaper and human was banned, but a human like Ichigo? Who knew what the kid's power would be like? The Soul Society would _never_ allow it.

Rukia leaned against the wall and buried her head in her hands. This wasn't happening. She had to be dreaming. Isshin had to be wrong. Because if he wasn't, Rukia wouldn't be allowed to stay in the world of the living anymore. The Soul Society would pull her out, kill the baby, and maybe even her. She wasn't sure about that part. She knew she'd be punished in someway though.

Feeling kind of light-headed now, she pushed herself off the wall and walked back out to the living room, putting the phone back and walking around to the back of the couch. Ichigo, somehow, had fallen over, and was now laying down on his back, one hand flung over the back of the couch, the other across his chest. His mouth was open, and he was still snoring. Rukia smiled as she looked down at him. She loved him more than anything else, and she never wanted to leave his side. But if the Soul Society had their way, she might not have a choice.

Determined to just cross that bridge when she got there, Rukia reached down and let her hand play over Ichigo's cheek. She couldn't believe how five years had changed him. True, he still scowled like it was a natural feature on his face (and to everyone who knew him, it was), but he had started to surprise Rukia with strange bouts of tender acts and kindness. Rukia had to admit, it was surprising to learn he really_ did _have a delicate side.

Not that everything had changed. For instance, Ichigo and Rukia still argued like they breathed, and more than once Ichigo had found his butt forcibly on the floor (but only when Rukia was really annoyed, she enjoyed his company in bed). And of course, Ichigo insisted that Rukia had been purposefully kicking him the last two weeks when she had darted out of bed to the bathroom (which Rukia denied, though it was quite true). The arguing and the pain were natural parts of their relationship. There wasn't anything either of them could do about it.

Rukia pulled her hand away from Ichigo's face, still smiling. Just as she decided to let him sleep awhile more, a wave of dizziness slammed into her. She stumbled slightly and grabbed the back of the couch for support. At the same time, Ichigo's eyes fluttered open.

The first thing he saw when he woke up was how pale she looked. "Rukia?" he sat up at once. Her eyes, which had been squeezed tightly shut, opened a fraction of an inch to look at him. "What's wrong? Do you feel sick again?"

She shook her head. "No, just...dizzy"

"Here," he stood up and – much to her detest – scooped her into his arms.

"Put me down!" she hissed, her heart not really into it. It felt good to be off her feet.

"No way," he walked down the hall to their room, and elbowed the door open. He laid her down in bed. "Just rest, all right?"

He grabbed the blankets off the floor and started untangling them. "Ichigo, I..." Rukia hesitated. How could she say it?

"Never-mind," he laid the blankets over her. "Sleep for now. You can tell me later"

Rukia took a deep breath as he ran a hand through her raven hair. She was tired...

* * *

Ichigo carefully shut the door to the room he and Rukia shared. She was out like a light. Wondering vaguely when his dad would get back to them about the test results, Ichigo walked back out to the living room, and flopped down on the couch, grabbing the remote. Before he changed the channel though, the screen went blank, and then a "breaking news bulletin" screen came on. Ichigo rolled his eyes as the anchor, a female, came on. "We've just received confirmation from Tokyo State Prison that a convict has in fact escaped," Ichigo rolled his eyes. Couldn't the cops do their jobs for once? "The escapee was twenty-year-old Yukio Ryuichi, who was convicted five years prior for the rape of several girls, and attempted murder of one, and was sent to Tokyo State when he turned eighteen..."

Ichigo's blood had run cold. No. Oh _fuck_ no. That sick bastard. He was the one that had raped Rukia five years before. _She_ was the one he had attempted to kill.

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**Author's Note**: And _this,_ boys and girls, is why it's good to read the prequel_ before_ the sequel. Because if you don't, then you have no idea who Yukio Ryuichi is. If you _do_ know who he is...please don't kill me for bringing him back! Really, honestly, I don't have much planned for him, he gets one big part and that's about it. So please, put the freakin' knives away! Anyways, as you can tell I decided to continue, mostly because of the overwhelming amount of reviews I got. I was surprised XD Anyways, let's say...between 40-55 reviews for this chapter, but you know I'd never say no to more ;-) - Sam 


	3. Confessions

**Disclaimer: **All I own are my OCs

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**Chapter 3** – Confessions

Ichigo was saved from having to tell Rukia about Yukio, because she slept right through the rest of the day. Secretly, Ichigo was relieved. He wasn't sure exactly _how_ to go about telling Rukia that her would-be killer had escaped from prison. He spent the rest of the day flipping through the channels, trying to find news. But no one knew anything about how Yukio escaped, or why he had done it, or where he could be at the moment. Well, Ichigo wasn't stupid. He knew exactly why Yukio had escaped. The sorry excuse for a human being wanted revenge. If he came within ten _inches_ of Rukia...

Orihime called, panicking. She started shouting the second Ichigo said hello, going on and on about Yukio. It took Ichigo five minutes to cut in and tell Orihime he already knew. She had been quiet for a few minutes, then asked if she could come over. Normally Ichigo would have been okay with that, but he wanted to be the one to tell Rukia the news, and Orihime would surely let something slip about it. So instead he told Orihime that Rukia was sick, and it was best if she was left to rest for a little (and for all Ichigo knew she _was_ sick; his dad never got back to them with the test results).

* * *

Ichigo groaned as he once again felt Rukia's foot connect with his knee as she darted out of bed. _She could at least alternate which knee she hits_, he grumbled silently as he sat up, running a hand through his hair. He sighed and allowed worry to once again fill his mind. What could be wrong with her? The flu didn't last this long, and anyways she didn't have a fever.

Unsure of what to think, Ichigo pushed himself out of bed and quickly walked into the bathroom. Rukia was just finishing throwing up. Breathing heavily, she leaned against the wall, eyes closed. Ichigo walked over and kneeled down next to her. Without saying anything, he reached over and put an arm around her shoulder. She leaned her head against his arm, taking deep breaths now. He didn't want to try and move her in case she wasn't quite done throwing up yet, but after about five minutes he figured it was okay, and carefully helped her up. She refused to be carried, big surprise, but allowed him to help her back to their room without a fuss.

Once Ichigo was sure she was comfortable he stood up saying, "I'm gonna go call my dad. He never called about the test results"

"Actually," Rukia caught his arm as he turned to leave. "He...did call. Yesterday, while you were sleeping. I didn't get a chance to tell you though..."

Interested now, Ichigo sat down. Rukia pushed herself into a sitting position, staring determinedly at her hands. Ichigo looked back at her for a good five or ten minutes before saying, "Well? What'd he say? Are you sick? Is it serious?"

"Well, I, uh...it depends on what your idea of serious is," she still didn't look up at him.

"Well, are you dying?"

"No, nothing like that"

"Then it can't be too bad," Ichigo folded his arms. She still seemed reluctant to let on though. "Rukia, just tell me"

"Well, you see, it's...I mean..."

"Come on, how terrible is it?" he decided to go for sarcasm, "I mean what, are you pregnant or something?"

She finally looked up at him. "What would you say if I was?"

Ichigo blinked, and his amber eyes went wide. "What?!" he jumped up, "What do you mean your pregnant?! But, but...how?!"

"What, no one ever told you?"

Ichigo glared at her. "_Please_ tell me you're kidding. I mean...a _baby_? _Us_?"

"That's what everyone is saying"

Ichigo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and sat back down on the edge of the bed. "You're really serious, aren't you? About a baby, I mean..."

Her violet eyes met his amber ones. "Yes, Ichigo. I really am"

"Oh God..." he ran a hand through his hair, "This is...I just...don't believe it"

"Are you upset?" she looked like she expected him to say 'yes'. Well he was going to surprise her.

"No. Not really. Just surprised. I mean, I've always wanted kids, someday, but..." he sighed, "God Rukia, we're both still in college for heaven's sake, we can't take care of a baby"

"I know," she looked down at her hands, "I know...and there's also..."

Her voice trailed off. "Also _what_?" Ichigo asked, suspicious now. How much more news was she going to put on him?

"Well, it's the Soul Society," she said after a minute, "I'm not sure if this would be...allowed. I mean, considering you _are_ technically a human, but you're also a substitute Soul Reaper, so...I'm not sure where this falls"

Ichigo blinked. And suddenly he understood. The Soul Society didn't take kindly to people breaking their laws. And Rukia had already done that once. "You don't mean...they wouldn't _kill_ you for this, would they?"

"Maybe not kill," her voice was slow and deliberate, "I'd definitely be taken out of the living world, and the baby would be killed, but I'm not sure _what _they'd do to me"

"But-"

"I told you, Ichigo; I'm not sure where this situation falls," she shook her head, "For all I know they'll kill both of us. Or they might just leave us alone. I really don't know right now"

Ichigo tried to be calm. He didn't want to think about the Soul Society hurting Rukia or him or their baby. "It'll be okay," he said finally, "We'll just have to deal with things as they come along, you know? Don't worry about it. I won't let anyone hurt you. If anyone from the Soul Society _does_ come, I'll just kick their asses, it's no big deal"

"It's not me I'm worried about," her voice was low now.

"It's never _you_ Rukia, that's the problem," Ichigo placed a hand under her chin and forced her head up so she was looking him in the eye, "I've told you before, you have to start worrying more about yourself and less about me. Okay? You're more important right now"

She looked away, trying to push back her tears. "Ichi...go..."

He wrapped her in a tight hug, resting his chin on top of her head. "We can make this work," he said, trying to reassure her, "We _will_ make this work. No one's going to separate us, understand? And no one's going to take this baby away," he paused for a second. "You _do want_ the baby, right?"

Her face was buried in his chest, so her words were muffled. "Come again?" he pulled away and looked down at her, hands planted firmly on her shoulders.

"I said of course I do, you idiot," she smiled, and some form of life entered her dull eyes.

"Okay," he pulled her back into the hug. After a second of thought he said, "It _is_ mine, right?"

This time she didn't even bother to answer; instead she raised her hand and slapped him in the back of the head. "I'll take that as a yes," annoyed as he was that she had slapped him, he still managed a smile. "So...we're gonna have a baby, huh?"

"Yeah. I'd say so"

Ichigo kissed the top of the short girl's head. "Rukia?"

"Yeah, Ichigo?"

"I love you"

"I love you too"

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**Author's Note**: Must...not...stab...self...with...nearest...sharp...object...this chapter was just...I'm ashamed of this chapter, really. Seriously, I want to grab a paper bag, cut eye holes in it, and put it over my head. Unfortunately, we use don't use paper bags in my house. So...can anyone lend me one? Anyways...thanks for the reviews last chapter, I really liked them, glad no one thinks this story is a waste of time. 'Course...what you think now is a different story all together. But yeah, between 70 and 80 reviews this time around would be awesome (I'll never say no to more though). Also, if you have a chance, drop by my profile and check out my new story called _Miracle_. It's an AU IchiRuki, if you like depressing you might enjoy it. Anyways, review! - Sam 


	4. Complications

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Bleach. Don't really own this idea, actually. Do own Yukio Ryuichi (poor me)

**Author's Note: **I would like to apologize in advance for any sore spots this chapter may hit

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**Chapter 4** – Complications

Ichigo was torn. On the one hand, now that the shock had worn off he was _thrilled_. He was going to be a father! He was really going to be a father! Who _wouldn't_ be happy about something like that? On the other hand though, he hated seeing what it was doing to Rukia.

It seemed as if lately she couldn't hold anything down. And it wasn't just morning sickness either; whenever she tried to eat something, even something small like a cracker, she always ended up throwing up about an hour later. She always seemed pale and tired, and she was losing weight. Ichigo was worried.

He thought about it as he lay in bed one night. It was past midnight, but he wasn't even remotely tired. It had been a week since they'd found out about Rukia being pregnant. Even though they had no clue whether it was going to be a boy or a girl, they were already talking about different names. Rukia was partial to Kaien for a boy. Ichigo wasn't sure why, but he wasn't going to ask.

Smiling, he reached over and wrapped his arms around Rukia's still-small body. She jerked involuntarily, but it was small movement, almost unnoticeable. Ichigo knew what it was. Even five years later, she still tended to jump, just a little, if she wasn't expecting the touch. He understood that, and he'd learned not to take it personally. She was like that with everyone, after all.

Thinking about this brought Ichigo's mind back to Yukio. That bastard was still out there somewhere. Ichigo had been careful not to watch the news around Rukia (he didn't want to scare her), so he had to wait until he was in the car to listen to it on the radio, or get up after Rukia was asleep and watch it then. But he'd learned enough. No one had any clue where Yukio was. It was as if he had simply disappeared off the face of the earth. But it was speculated that he was heading back to Karakura Town, the sight of his arrest. This news just made Ichigo even more nervous about leaving Rukia alone, but of course, she was only alone during the day. Yukio may have been a lot of things, but stupid wasn't one of them. He wouldn't attack her in broad daylight. Thinking like this made Ichigo feel a little better. A little. But not much.

A soft groaning noise from beside Ichigo jerked him back into reality, and he looked around. Rukia was stirring, though her eyes were still closed. Upon closer inspection, Ichigo saw that her face was twisted into a look of...fear? Ichigo wasn't sure. It was a look he didn't see very often on Rukia's face. Frowning, he shook her gently. She shivered under his touch, but didn't wake up. He wondered what she was dreaming about. It took a lot to scare Rukia.

"Hey," he shook her again, trying to wake her up. He didn't like to see her scared. "Rukia, wake up, come on..."

It took a couple of minutes, but finally she jerked awake, surprising Ichigo. He pulled away quickly, and the result was him falling off the bed, hitting his head against the side table. "Oh _no_," Rukia groaned, looking over the edge of the bed at him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he rubbed his head as he sat up, "Nothing broken"

"Well, you have a hard head anyway," she shrugged as she laid back on her side. Ichigo, muttering under his breath, pulled himself back into bed, shuffling slightly so that he was closer to her.

"So what were you dreaming about?" he asked when he was comfortable again. He felt her body stiffen beside his.

"N-Nothing," Ichigo knew what 'nothing' translated into. Instead of pushing it, he rolled over so he was facing her, reached over, and wrapped one arm around her. She moved closer to him and rested her head against his chest.

"How do you feel?"

"Terrible," her eyes were closed again. Ichigo knew she just wanted to go back to sleep, so he kept quiet. Within minutes, her breathing evened out, and he knew she was asleep again. Smiling slightly, he rested his chin on top of her head. Maybe he couldn't protect her from the nightmares. But he could – and _would_ – protect her from everything else.

* * *

Rukia awoke early the next morning. She was still shaking. It wasn't that she hadn't already accepted what had happened to her – that had been the easy part. But when the memories came back to her, and she wasn't expecting it...

Trying to push the thoughts out of her mind, Rukia rolled over to look at Ichigo. He was still fast asleep, his face devoid of it's usual scowl. Rukia allowed a small smile to play over her lips. He was so cute when he was asleep...

A wave of nausea rolled over Rukia. She darted out of bed (as always, she took the time to kick Ichigo's knee; why should she be the only one that suffered?), ran across the hall to the bathroom, collapsed in front of the toilet, and threw up. She wasn't sure why, considering she hadn't eaten anything since she'd last thrown up, which had been about noon the day before, but it didn't matter, in the long run.

She heard Ichigo shuffle in, as always, just as she was finishing. He kneeled down next to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry," she whispered, leaning against the wall. Her pajamas felt incredibly big on her, which was saying something considering they were _her_ size.

"For what?" Ichigo sounded surprised, "It's not your fault, idiot"

She found the strength to reach up and slap him. Rubbing his arm (she hadn't bothered with trying to find his head), he continued, "Come on. You should try and eat something-"

But she shook her head. "What? Rukia you have to eat"

_Why bother_, she wanted to say. No matter what she ate, she always ended up just throwing up again. That was how it had been for the past week.

"Rukia?"

"Please, Ichigo," she muttered, closing her eyes, "I just...want to go back to bed, okay? I'm tired, and you're always saying I should rest-"

He sighed, apparently recognizing his defeat, and scooped her into his arms. She didn't try and protest. She felt too miserable, and instead she just rested her head against his chest. "This isn't right, is it?" she muttered as he laid her down again, "I should be able to at least eat something, right?"

She didn't know anything about being pregnant, and she wasn't sure why she was asking Ichigo, considering he didn't know anything either. She was surprised when he said, "No. I don't think it is. But don't worry. It'll be okay"

Maybe _that_ was why she had asked. Just to hear, "It'll be okay"

She curled up under the blankets and opened her eyes just enough so that she could see Ichigo. She almost wished she hadn't. If she hadn't, she wouldn't have seen his eyes as he said, "It'll be okay," because his eyes made it all too obvious; he was lying.

* * *

It was mid-day before Rukia even attempted to eat something. Ichigo had gone out and bought some soup. It wasn't even been an hour before she threw up again. "That's it," Ichigo said, worry clouding his features. "I'm calling my dad"

He didn't even give Rukia a chance to protest, but that was okay. Because she had absolutely no thoughts of protesting on her mind.

Ichigo sighed as he dialed, watching Rukia intently. She was curled up in the corner of the couch. Her face was as white as a sheet, and she was shivering.

"Hello, Kurosaki residence"

"Hey, Yuzu, is Dad busy?"

"Uh, I think he's with a patient...wait, she just left. Feel better!"

"Yuzu!"

"Oh, right. Why, is something wrong?"

Ichigo looked over at Rukia, who's head was resting on the arm of the couch. He said in a quiet voice, "I think there might be something wrong with the baby"

Yuzu gasped. "That's terrible!"

Ichigo heard Isshin saying on the other end, "What's terrible?"

"Can I bring her over?"

"Yes, of course," he heard some papers rustling, then Yuzu said, "Yeah, come over right away"

"All right," he hung up without another word, and looked over at Rukia again. She'd fallen asleep. Sighing, he grabbed her jacket. It may have been summertime, but she always seemed cold now.

* * *

Ichigo sighed and leaned his head against the wall. It had been about half an hour since he had brought Rukia to the clinic. He was in the waiting room doing just that; waiting. It was an annoyingly long wait. "I'm sure Rukia will be okay," Yuzu assured him with a smile. She and Karin had wanted to help Isshin, but he'd told them to keep their brother company. Which they were doing quite dutifully.

"Yeah," Ichigo muttered, "She'll be okay. The baby'll be okay. Everything'll be okay"

"You're being unusually positive," Karin observed.

"It's better than thinking about what might really happen," at that moment, Isshin walked out of the small room he'd been treating Rukia in. Ichigo jumped up. "Well?!"

He noticed how somber Isshin looked. "I hate to say it Ichigo, but..."

Ichigo gripped his fist tightly. "Is she going to lose the baby?"

"Chances are...yes," it felt as if someone had pulled the rug out from under his feet, "She's losing weight fast, and if she really can't keep any food down like you said...well, I just don't see how it'll be possible for the baby to survive"

Ichigo struggled against tears. Isshin, seeing his son's obvious distress, went on, trying to ease the pain. "I'd like her to stay overnight, just for some observations. Ichigo, I'm-"

"Can I go in and talk to her?"

"She fell asleep"

"Then can I just go see her?" Isshin nodded. Ichigo walked past his father into the room. As he went to close the door he heard Yuzu say, "Is she really going to lose the baby?"

He didn't wait for the answer, but just shut the door. He walked over to Rukia's bed. She looked so small, just laying there. Ichigo took her too pale hand into his own, once again fighting tears. He reached his other hand over and rested it on her stomach. He couldn't believe it. His little son or daughter was going to die before he or she was even born. It just didn't seem right. _Please God, _he begged silently, _Please, don't let this baby die_

* * *

Rukia was, understandably enough, devastated when Ichigo told her the news. But she handled it okay. She refused to cry in front of the others, out of pure habit, but when everyone went to bed (Ichigo gained control of his old room, refusing to leave Rukia), and Rukia was left alone in the clinic, she allowed the tears to fall down her face.

Yuzu made a special soup for lunch the next day. Though Rukia really wasn't hungry, she ate a little bit anyways (not even a full bowl, but a little was better than nothing). Yuzu frowned when she saw how little Rukia ate, but didn't comment on it.

Ichigo called out of work that day, and spent the entire day in the clinic with Rukia. He noticed that there was a little more color in her face, but didn't point it out. He didn't want to give her any kind of false hope.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I hate this chapter. Hate it with a bloody freakin' passion. I hate the idea associated with this chapter. I don't even know why I wrote it. You see – as much as I want to kill myself for admitting it – this chapter was inspired by a friend of mine, who had a miscarriage a few months ago. I hate it because it was so sad, and my friend and her husband were both really upset (which is understandable, of course) and I felt like there was nothing I could do to help. Anyways, now I'm sure you understand my apology before the chapter started, and I would like to say it again; I'm sorry for any soft spots this chapter might have hit. I really _don't_ like it. At all. But anyways. Despite the fact that this chapter is probably the worst, reviews would be nice. I'd like this chapter to bring me up to 100, if that's okay. Is that okay? - Sam 


	5. Old Wounds

**Disclaimer: **Pretty sure I don't own Bleach...

* * *

**Chapter 5** – Old Wounds

Rukia ended up staying in the clinic for a week. Little by little, she was able to hold down her food (though if she ate too much she _did _throw up). Ichigo was careful to see that Rukia's portion of food was kept small. Isshin said that it wasn't much, and they shouldn't get their hopes up; an ultrasound had revealed that the baby wasn't as big as it should have been by that point in the pregnancy. And while Rukia tried, she couldn't help but feel just a small bit of happiness. Maybe things really_ would_ be okay.

"How do you feel?" Ichigo asked when he walked into the clinic that night. The first thing he noticed was that her face was now full of color. And she looked like she'd put on a little weight.

"Not bad, actually," she pushed herself into a sitting position, "I mean, I've been better, but..."

He nodded. He understood. "Your dad said we shouldn't get our hopes up," she rested a hand on her stomach, "But I can't help it. I have a good feeling about this Ichigo"

A small smile played around Ichigo's lips. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Yeah. I do too"

* * *

Orihime stopped by the next day to visit. Ichigo pulled her aside before she went in to visit Rukia. "Don't mention anything about Yukio," he warned her. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Rukia doesn't _know_?" Ichigo shook his head, and Orihime frowned.

"Why didn't you tell her? Doesn't she deserve to know?"

"I don't wanna scare her, okay?" Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets, "She has enough on her mind right now"

Orihime softened. A little. "I won't say anything, don't worry"

That didn't stop Ichigo from hovering just outside the door, listening to every word Orihime said. But he didn't have to worry; the only thing they talked about that came close to being about males was Uryu (and Ichigo wasn't sure he really considered_ him_ a male). Orihime had a good time showing off the ring he had bought her. "We're gonna wait until after college, of course," she added quickly, "But...he said he didn't wanna wait that long to propose"

Great. Even freakin' Ishida was faster than Ichigo. He and Rukia were having a kid, and he _still _hadn't thought about proposing (okay, maybe he had thought about once...or twice...a million times...in the past five years).

Orihime stayed for about an hour, and when she finally left, Ichigo couldn't help but notice how much more...alive Rukia looked. As if seeing one of her friends had been exactly what she needed. And maybe it had been.

* * *

It was around seven or eight in the morning. Ichigo stirred and yawned. What in the world had woken him up?

Because Rukia was still in the clinic, he was still staying in his old room. He looked around now, trying to figure out what was wrong. Then he realized; there was someone else in bed with him.

_Jeez, deja vu,_ he thought as he looked down and saw Rukia's sleeping form. When the hell had she joined him? And more importantly, why wasn't she in the clinic? "Ichigoooooo!" Isshin's voice rang through the house. Ichigo, wondering what the hell could be wrong, darted out of bed and downstairs.

"What the hell's wrong?"

"Rukia's gone!" Yuzu said, sounding fearful, "We went in to check on her and-"

"She's in my room," Ichigo ran a hand through his hair._ That_ was why they were freaking out?

"What?" Isshin said in a disbelieving voice, "Why?"

"I dunno. Apparently she got lonely," Ichigo turned to go back upstairs. "And Dad? Shut up, it's too early to be making all that noise"

When he walked back into his room he saw Rukia was just waking up. "Well, you succeeded in giving my dad a heart attack," he sat down next to her, "Good job"

She blinked. "What?"

"Everybody flipped when they saw you weren't in the clinic"

"Oh," she ran a tired hand over eyes. "Sorry. But I missed you"

He smiled, leaned over, and gave her a light kiss on the cheek. "It's okay"

* * *

Rukia was finally allowed to go home. She was no longer throwing up everything she ate, and now looked much stronger than she had before. Isshin warned them that something could still go wrong (she was still in the first trimester, after all), but they didn't let it get them down. Sure, there was a chance something could go wrong. But there was also a chance that everything would be all right.

Ichigo sighed in his sleep. He was home again. Rukia was back by his side. As far as they could tell, their baby was going to live. It really _did _seem like everything was going to be okay.

But as he opened his eyes and saw Rukia, who was laying next to him, his heart sunk lower than a stone in the water. She was awake, and had tears in her sharp, violet eyes, which were trained on his chest. "Rukia?" she didn't look up at him. "Rukia, what's wrong?"

She continued to stare at his chest. It'd been hot out last night, and he'd opted against sleeping with a shirt, going instead for just a pair of sweatpants. Now he was beginning to wish he _had_ worn a shirt, because Rukia was starting to scare him. "Rukia, talk to me. What is it?"

Silently, she reached out a slender finger and ran it along one of the many scars on his chest. It was the one her brother had given her on a rainy night, five years prior. But she couldn't possibly know that...could she? "Rukia..."

"That's my fault," she said quietly, her finger still tracing the scar, "That's all my fault. I might as well have been holding the sword that gave it to you"

"That's not-"

"Yes, it is," the simple, quiet way she spoke stupefied Ichigo into silence. "My brother...that's from the wound he gave you. Because you tried to stop him from bringing me back. It's my fault. You nearly died, and it's my fault"

Okay, now she was _really_ scaring him. He wasn't used to Rukia talking like this, wasn't used to hearing her voice so strangled with guilt. He knew pregnant women were supposed to have mood-swings, but this? Ichigo made a mental note to wear a shirt every night until the baby was born, no matter how freakin' hot it was. "Rukia, look at me," she didn't. Annoyed now, he grabbed her finger (which was still tracing the scar), and pulled it away from his chest. Then he reached out his other hand, cupped it around her chin, and tilted her head up so they were eye to eye. "It's not your fault, okay?" he said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice, "You didn't_ tell _your brother to try and kill me, no more than you told _me_ to try and rescue you. In fact, if I remember correctly you told me to go home. The point is, I got the scars because of my own stupidity, or because of someone else. None of them are your fault, Rukia. Understand?"

Her eyes fell away from his as she closed them, and after a second she whispered, "Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you ever...sorry that I came here?"

Oh yeah, he was_ definitely_ wearing a shirt to bed from now on. "Of course not," he said at once, "I love you Rukia, you know that"

"But if it wasn't for me, you'd be able to live a normal life"

"Che, who wants to be normal?" he reached over and pulled her closer to him, "I'm happy just the way I am Rukia. As long as I have you, I don't care how strange my life is"

She didn't look at all reassured. "Rukia," he said in a firm voice, "Listen to me. I'd be miserable without you. All right? If it wasn't for you, I'd be miserable right now. So don't _ever _say that my life would be better without you. Got it?"

She bowed her head and rested against his chest. "I'd be miserable without you too," she whispered. Ichigo could feel the tears slipping down her cheeks onto his chest. He tightened his grip around her.

Only seven months left. He was going to wear a shirt through each and every one of them.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ah, love happy endings. Okay, maybe this wasn't happy _per say_. But hell, it was better than the way the last chapter ended. Anyways, now you know _why_ I published the last chapter, despite how much I hated it. And I would once again like to apologize for that chapter, because I still feel it was very sensitive issue. But, moving on...

To all of you who are probably saying, "Rukia was so freakin' OOC it was unreal!", I have three words: _get over it_. She's pregnant, she's gonna have mood-swings, and I don't want all her mood-swings to be her screaming at Ichigo, otherwise we'll never know _when_ she's having mood-swings, considering she does that anyway. Oh, and I realize my chapters are rather short, compared to how long the chapters in "WHLN" were. But for some reason this story doesn't type out as easily as "WHLN" did /shrugs/ Anyways, got my 100 goal last time /squee!/ so this time let's call...120 or above. Anybody think that's too high? I could make it lower...but I really don't want to...anyways, review, please! - Sam


	6. Old Fears

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Bleach. Phooey

* * *

**Chapter 6** – Old Fears

Rukia smiled from her spot on the couch as she watched Ichigo pace. It had been three days since she'd returned home. Ichigo had stayed home from work, saying he didn't want to leave her alone. Now he was debating whether or not he wanted to go back yet.

Rukia had to admit, she found the attention a little flattering, but she couldn't help but wonder if Ichigo had an ulterior motive for being so jumpy. True, he _always _worried about her, but now he just seemed more worried than usual.

"Ichigo, you have to go back," she said finally, though she had to admit, she was really enjoying watching his internal argument (especially since she couldn't tell who was winning and who was losing). "You can't afford to lose time - or your job, for that matter - right now"

"I know," he ran a hand through his hair. "I know. _I know_. But...what if something happens while I"m gone?"

Rukia held up two things: his cellphone, and their cordless phone. "I'll keep this," she wiggled the cordless, "with me all day, if it makes you feel any better. And you keep this," she threw the cellphone to him and he caught it, "with you. I know the clinic's number if anything happens, and I'll make sure you get called as well. Don't worry. Go to work"

Ichigo began to protest, and Rukia snapped. She stood up, walked over to him, planted her hands firmly on his back, and started pushing him to the door (he was already dressed for work; he'd gotten up early to get ready, _then_ started debating whether or not he should go). "Ow, hey, Rukia, stop!" he yelped as she shoved him, "I can walk you know!"

"Yeah, but you're not," she reached around him, opened the door, and gave one final shove, pushing him out into the hall. She stood in the door, blocking his path. "Now go"

He turned around to glare at her, and she just smiled back innocently. "Go on," she said, using her old 'innocent-school-girl' voice, which she knew drove him insane, "You're going to be late, you don't want that now do you?"

He covered his ears, looking annoyed. "You talk like that just to bug me, don't you?"

"Yup," she kicked him in the knee, "Now leave already before I push you down the stairs"

He left, muttering threats under his breath. "Now really, you wouldn't want to hurt the woman carrying your baby, would you?" she called after him before shutting the door, smirking. It was so much fun, and _so easy_ to push his buttons.

Not that she was being ungrateful. She appreciated that he was worried about her and the baby. But there was a fine line between worry and obsession, and Ichigo had crossed it. He needed to get out of the house for a little while, even if it _was_ just to go to work. And she needed some time to herself; three straight days home with Ichigo, and she was starting to go insane. Ichigo refused to let her do _anything _and she needed a break from all the attention anyway. And a chance to actually _do _something besides sit on the couch. And maybe a chance to go in search of the cookies Ichigo had hidden from her.

* * *

"Hey Ichigo," Mizuiro greeted Ichigo as he walked into the office. The two had gotten a job at the same place after high school, much to Ichigo's distress. It wasn't that he didn't like Mizuiro, but sometimes his old friend got very annoying. Especially when they were working side by side with each other. Ichigo often went home with a headache.

"Hey Mizuiro," Ichigo said boredly as he started down to his cubicle.

"How's Rukia?"

"Fine," Ichigo wasn't in the mood to talk. But what Mizuiro said next as Ichigo sat down at his desk held some interest for the orange-haired man.

"Did you hear about Yukio? He was seen near here 'bout a week ago," Ichigo's amber eyes widened, and his head jerked around to look at his old friend, his heart pounding. He waited for Mizuiro to say it was a joke, but he was obviously very serious.

"What?!"

"Yeah," Mizuiro nodded wisely, "Just outside of town. You don't...You don't think he's after Rukia, do you?"

"He's a sick bastard, who knows how his mind works?" Ichigo grumbled, turning on his computer screen and typing out his password. He didn't want to talk about Yukio. The man was a twisted son of a bitch who belonged behind bars, or dead – and somehow, Ichigo wasn't surprised to find he preferred that last option.

"Good point," Mizuiro agreed, "They did an interview with another girl he raped...he did some sick, sick things to her, her parents said she was never quite right after that...why people do things like that I"ll never understand..."

Ichigo didn't want to hear this. _Rukia_ had never been quite right after what Yukio had done to her. She'd recovered, to an extent, but there were some wounds that could _never_ be healed. Ichigo knew, whenever Rukia tossed and turned, or moaned in her sleep, that she was revisiting the park on that night five years ago, reliving everything that had happened, or perhaps living some other event, something her head made up out of fear. And in her dream-world, he was powerless to help her. Damn Yukio. Ichigo would have given anything to be able to kill him. If only murder wasn't against the law...

* * *

Rukia couldn't explain it, but she was in an unnaturally good mood. Well, maybe she could explain it. She was having a baby with the man she loved, she had just goaded said man into insanity, and her life just seemed all around...good. Okay. So she really _could _explain the unnatural good mood. For the first time – probably ever – in Rukia's life, everything seemed to be going okay. Who wouldn't be happy about something like that?

"I like Hisana, personally"

"Ooo, that's a really pretty name!" Rukia smiled. She was talking on the phone with Orihime about different names for the baby. They'd been talking for awhile – correction, _Orihime _had been talking for awhile. Rukia just occasionally broke in every now and then.

"Yeah, I like it. But I told Ichigo_ he_ could pick the name if it was a girl. I pick a boy's name, that's what we agreed on"

"What are you going to name it if it's a boy?"

"Well, I was thinking Kaien, actually"

"That's a nice name too!" Rukia smiled a sadly.

"It's a name that means a lot to me"

"I get it," she could almost imagine Orihime on the other end, nodding in a serious way, and smiled. That was Orihime for you – always saying she understood something, even when it was impossible that she would.

"What kind of names would _you_ pick?"

"Well, I've always liked the name Hishigame for a boy," Orihime said thoughtfully, "For a girl...Setsuka. I love the name Setsuka. It has such a pretty ring to it, doesn't it? Or Kaori. Setsuka or Kaori. But Hishigame is the only boy's name I like"

"It's a cute name," Rukia assured her, "And so are Setsuka and Kaori"

"I like to think so...oh, Uryu's here! I'd better go Rukia, I told him I'd have lunch with him. Bye!" there was a click as she hung up. Rukia frowned and looked over at the clock. It was almost noon. _Damn_, she thought, _Orihime and I talked longer than I thought. Oh well, good thing she lives in town, I could just see the phone bill if she didn't_

Laughing, Rukia started preparing lunch for herself. She couldn't remember when she'd felt _this_ happy before. For once it just seemed like everything was going right. Like it'd all be okay.

_Ding-Dong_

Rukia smiled as the doorbell rang. She figured it was Yuzu. The young girl always rang the doorbell. "Just a minute!" Rukia called, quickly crossing the apartment. She opened the door, saying, "You know, Yuzu, you don't have to ring the-"

She froze. Her eyes widened in shock. She literally stopped breathing, but her heart was suddenly beating a lot faster. This _had _to be a nightmare...

"Hello Rukia. Remember me?"

"Y-Yukio..." she had to be dreaming. That was the only explanation has to _why_ Yukio Ryuichi was standing just outside her apartment door, giving her a sickeningly sweet smile. She had fallen asleep on the couch and she was dreaming. Yeah. That sounded really good.

"So you do remember," he said, smirking slightly. His gray-blue eyes were filled with malice. His pale blond hair, once reaching past his ears, had been cut when he went to jail, and was now far above his ears. And he had gotten taller. He now stood at six feet. At least. Rukia continued to stare up at him, fear taking over all common sense. And in her mind, she flashed back to that terrifying night in the park...

"_Let me go!"_

"No way," he shoved her down to the ground and sat down on top of her, "Not until I get what's mine"

"_What...don't..." she pushed at him, and again, the tempting thought of throwing him ten feet away crossed her mind, "Let ,me-"_

_He covered her mouth, and leaned down, his gray-blue eyes meeting her violet ones. "Stop. Don't talk. Just let me do this one thing without struggling, then you can walk away forever for all I care"_

"What the hell are you doing here?" Rukia had finally found her voice, though she was shaking like a leaf now, "I thought you were in jail"

"Oh I was," he assured her, "It was so easy, really, getting out. Pathetic almost. Well, I'd really hate to linger over a doorstep. Mind if I come in?"

Rukia tried to slam the door, but Yukio stuck his foot in, stopping it. Rukia leaned against it, but with one shove he sent her flying back. She stumbled and tripped, but luckily fell onto the couch. Yukio calmly shut the door and locked it. "I don't want any interruptions"

Rukia stumbled up. "Get out. _Now_"

"Or what?" he drew a knife from his back pocket. "I don't think you're in the position to be giving orders, Rukia"

Rukia tried not to let her fear show too much, "What do you want?"

"Well, actually, Rukia, I want _you _dead," he sounded so casual, "And I want your fool of a boyfriend, Ichigo Kurosaki, dead as well. I hope that's not a problem. I mean, that _isn't _a problem, is it? Because that's too bad if it is"

"Stay away from Ichigo," she said in a deadly low voice, "Leave him alone. He has nothing to do with you"

"He's part of the reason I went to jail!" his voice was as cold as ice.

"Like you didn't deserve it!" Rukia shot back, her anger over taking her fear now, "I met some of the other girls you raped, you did terrible things to them, the way I see it I got off lucky compared to them. You deserve to be locked up!"

She was suddenly very glad there was a coffee table between them. Yukio's grip on the knife tightened, as did his evil smirk. "Well, none of that will matter anymore," he assured her in a sickeningly sweet, would-be-soothing voice. Would-be if he didn't look like he was ready to murder someone "Soon nothing will matter, because you'll be dead, and Ichigo will be dead, and the world will be thanking me for ridding it of two pathetic people"

"And you'll spend the rest of your life in jail"

"They'll never catch me they're not smart enough. They got lucky once. But luck only gets a person so far, Rukia. I think it's time you learned that," he kicked the coffee table out of the way and dove forward, the knife raised. Rukia, acting on nothing but instinct and her old training as a Soul Reaper, jerked to the side. The knife missed it's intended target, which was her chest, but hit another one, and sank deep into her left shoulder.

Two pains hit Rukia at once. One, of course, was the pain from a sharp piece of metal digging into her shoulder. The other was from her stomach. It felt as if she'd been stabbed there as well. She yelled in pain and fell to her knees, clutching her stomach tightly. Something was wrong. Oh God, something was wrong...

"Oh that's right," Yukio said in a mild tone, "You're pregnant, aren't you? Oh dear, oh dear. That can't be very good for the baby, now can it?"

She doubled over, the combined pains were too much. She bit her lip to keep from screaming, and her eyes filled with tears. She was in trouble now, she could tell, and there was too much pain. She couldn't fight back. "Don't..."

"Don't what?" Yukio asked, "Kill you? Too late," he raised the knife, "Goodbye, Rukia Kuchiki, and good-"

The rest of his sentence was cut off by a fist connecting with his face. He was sent flying into the wall, and slammed his head. He was out instantly.

Ichigo had come home for lunch and, more importantly, to talk to Rukia about Yukio. In all the commotion before, no one had heard him turn his key in the lock.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Okay...okay...you can put the flaming tortures away now...that's the last we'll see of Yukio in this story...honest...now come on, you're going to set off the fire alarm...ahem. Thank you. Anyways. I'm kind of sad, 'cause my review/hit count for the story is going down, and that worries me. Do you think there's something (besides length!) that I can work on? If so, please leave a review telling me, any and all criticism/help is appreciated. In the mean time, 140 or more reviews to get me to update quicker. K? - Sam 


	7. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing

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**Chapter 7** – Aftermath

Ichigo watched Rukia from the door of her small room in the clinic. She was fast asleep, her hands resting over her stomach. She was wearing a hospital gown, and Ichigo could see a bandage wrapped around her right shoulder.

"She'll be okay, right?" Ichigo asked his father, who nodded.

"The wound was deep, if it had hit her chest, she'd probably be dead right now. But as it stands, she'll be fine," Ichigo felt slightly more reassured. But not enough to completely put his mind at ease. Instead, he moved to his next question

"And the baby..."

"Is also fine," Isshin smiled, "I'd say the combined shock and fear of seeing Yukio again, added to the injury just overstressed her body. She's still trying to recover from before, after all. But she's going to be okay"

Ichigo nodded. He understood. "And there's no lasting damage, right?"

Isshin shook his head. "Nope. You're still going to be a father," and Ichigo finally allowed himself to smile.

"That's really scary," Yuzu whimpered. She and Karin had been there when Ichigo had brought Rukia in. "I'm glad she's okay"

"We all are, but you don't have to cry about it," Karin said boredly.

"I am _not_ crying!" Yuzu protested. She'd grown a bit of a backbone in the last five years.

"All right, all right," Isshin shooed everyone away from the door to Rukia's room. "Let her rest. She had a big, stressful day, she doesn't need us crowding around outside her door..."

Ichigo allowed himself to be pushed away, but couldn't resist looking over his shoulder at Rukia's sleeping form. She looked so peaceful...

Yukio was back in jail. Ichigo had called the police while speeding towards the clinic, rattling off his address and what had happened (he'd gotten strained details from Rukia while he carried her out to the car; even though he'd told her to shut up, she insisted on talking). Ichigo had gotten a call from the police a little while later, assuring him that Yukio was back in custody, and would be going away for a long, long time. And this time he was going to be under surveillance every second of the day. So it was alls well that ends well, really.

When they'd gotten to the clinic, Rukia had said her stomach didn't hurt as much anymore. Ichigo, unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, hadn't commented at all, but his eyes were drawn to her shoulder. He'd done a makeshift wrapping job before hurrying out of the apartment. The poor quality was already showing, as blood was starting to seep through. When he'd carried her into the clinic, everyone had panicked, understandably enough, but Isshin was quick to take charge. He had Ichigo bring Rukia into one of the rooms, then, when she was settled, he'd pushed his orange-haired son out.

Once Ichigo was sure he wasn't going to be allowed back into the room, he'd called work and told them he wasn't coming back for the day. He had to explain the situation to assure he wouldn't lose his job, after all.

And after that he had waited. And waited. It had been nearly two hours before Isshin finally came out again, and happily reassured his son and daughters that both Rukia and the baby would be just fine. His words had been greeted by sighs of relief.

Ichigo tucked his hands under his head and stared at his ceiling. He was back in his old room again. Isshin said he'd given Rukia a drug to keep her out most likely for the rest of the day. Ichigo absolutely refused to leave her, and had taken his room back again. It was past midnight, but he wasn't remotely tired. He was kicking himself for not telling Rukia about Yukio sooner. It could have made all the difference if he had.

He didn't fall asleep until almost four a.m. By the time he woke up it was almost noon. The time didn't really register in his mind at first. "Wait, what time is it?!" he bolted out of bed and charged downstairs. "Why didn't someone wake me up?!"

Yuzu poked her head out of the clinic. "Ichigo, sssshhh"

"Why'd you let me sleep?!"

"We figured we'd let the dead rest," Karin looked out from behind Yuzu, "Now shut up, would you? Dad's in with a patient, he doesn't need you shouting out here"

Ichigo sighed, annoyed. "Is Rukia awake?"

"Yeah, she woke up about an hour ago," great, even the girl who was on a sleeping drug had woken up before him. He pushed past Yuzu and Karin and down the small hall to Rukia's room. She looked up when he walked in and smiled.

"I thought I heard you yelling out there"

Ichigo smirked and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Heh, yeah, well..."

She cocked her head as she watched her. "Ichigo? What's wrong? You look upset about something"

"Well, I..." he shifted his feet uncomfortably. How was he supposed to tell her that he had known about Yukio all along? She was going to be upset, very upset. Whether it was because he could have protected her, or because he had kept a secret from her, it didn't matter. She'd be furious.

"So tell me, how are things in your world?" he looked up at her, and saw a small smile on her face. "Come on, I don't bite"

"Much," Ichigo rubbed his arm self-consciously, remembering about a year back when she'd gotten mad at him while they were in bed. She laughed, realizing what he was talking about. After a second he shuffled across the room towards her, and carefully sat down in the chair next to her bed.

"Look, Rukia...I have to tell you something," the smile on her face faltered slightly.

"What is it?" she sounded worried.

"Well...it's about Yukio," as always, when Ichigo said that scumbag's name, Rukia's body tensed. "It's not that!" Ichigo added quickly, "It's not...don't worry, the police got him, he had to go to the hospital for a concussion - guess he hit the wall pretty good - but he'll be back in jail in no time. No, it's something else," she relaxed at his words, and nodded, encouraging him to go on. "Well, you see...I kind of knew he escaped. The day you found out you were pregnant...it was on the news, I saw right after I helped you back to bed. I'm really sorry, Rukia," he couldn't look at her now, and was staring intently at his hands, which were resting in his lap. "I should have told you about it. But I didn't want to scare you, especially after what happened in the first weeks. I guess I was just hoping he would get caught"

There was a moment of silence. Ichigo supposed Rukia was just trying to figure out the best way to yell at him. He was surprised when, a second later, a small, pale hand reached over and rested itself on top of his own, larger ones. He looked up in surprise and saw Rukia watching him intently. "I..."

"Ichigo," her voice was firm, "One, don't _ever_ be afraid to tell me something, no matter what the circumstance is. Okay? And two, don't be afraid to admit that you were wrong. Especially when it comes to me, you know I love hearing that _you're_ wrong"

He smiled despite himself. "So...you're not going to hit me?"

She smiled back, then reached over her other hand and slapped him upside the head. He fell back in surprise, and nearly tipped the chair over. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Well, I get the feeling that's what you wanted me to do"

Ichigo couldn't help it. He laughed. "All right, all right. So you're not mad at me?"

"No, I'm not," somehow, he could tell she wasn't lying.

"Okay," he relaxed now, "So how's your shoulder doing?"

"Fine," she ran her left hand over her right shoulder. "It stings a little, Isshin doesn't want to give me any painkillers though, because of the baby, but he said it shouldn't hurt for too long anyway"

"That's good," Ichigo ran a hand through his unruly hair, "Your stomach feels fine too?"

"Yeah," she rested her hand over her stomach, "Your dad explained what might have caused the pain, and he said there was no lasting damage, so I guess it's all okay, huh?"

Ichigo nodded and looked out the window. The sun was shining in, the sky was bright, bright, blue, and the clouds were fluffy white. It was so stereotypical it was almost sick. "So"

"So"

"What about names?"

Ichigo laughed, and they started speculating about different names for the baby. Rukia remained loyal to the name Kaien, and nothing Ichigo said changed that (not that it mattered, he'd already agreed to let her name it if it was a boy). "You haven't talked much about girls names," she commented, "Don't you have any ideas at all?"

"I do. I just have a feeling that it's going to be a boy"

"You should still try and come up with names"

"Well, I do have one..."

"Then spit it out"

"Well...I'd kind of like Masaki for a girl," he'd thought about it for quite awhile, and finally decided that he wanted his first daughter to be named after his mother. Rukia nodded, understanding. "So why do you like the name Kaien so much?"

Rukia winced slightly. "Well...it's the name of my former lieutanant. He was...important to me, you see. He made me feel like I really belonged in the division. Everyone else kind of shunned me, because I was a Kuchiki. But Kaien was...well, he made feel really, truly good about myself"

Ichigo cocked his head. He had taken note of all the past tense words, and he could tell that this story didn't have a happy ending. "What happened to him?"

"He...died," she gulped, gripping the blankets tightly, "Actually, he was killed. By...me"

Ichigo didn't even bother to try and not be shocked. "Do you remember Ganju?" Ichigo nodded. It as hard to forget someone like Ganju Shiba and his sister. "Kaien was their brother. I'm surprised he never told you. It's a long story, I'm sure you don't-"

"I wanna hear it," she looked up, surprised.

"Well, I'll keep it short. A hollow took control of him and he tried to kill Captain Ukitake and I. I...when he attacked I did the first thing that made sense. I raised my sword...and when he dove at me it went right through him," she was shaking slightly now, and Ichigo could tell it was from suppressed tears. He reached over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Kaien sounds like a good name"

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ichigo, apparently, sucks at comfort XD Oh well. Anyways, yes, this chapter was the official end of Yukio Ryuichi in the lives of Rukia and Ichigo. He will now just be a passing memory. Oh, and I know you wanted to see Ichigo kick the crap out of Yukio, but between beating up an idiot and making sure his girlfriend and baby are both okay, I get the feeling Ichigo would choose the second choice. If I'd done things differently in the last chapter, I might have been able to work in a beating. But I didn't, so I couldn't. So put away the damn knives already _/waits for knife people to put sit down/_ Okay, thank you. Now, I know most of you are probably saying, "Where the f#$ is the Soul Society?!" Well never fear, they shall come in the next chapter. Oh, if you review, don't say something like "nothing happened, what a stupid chapter". I know nothing happened, you don't need to tell me that. Kay? So...Do you think it's at all possible this chapter could bring me up to 180 reviews? I'd love you for life if it did... - Sam 


	8. The Soul's Side

**Disclaimer:**I'm on strike. I refuse to disclaim this chapter

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**Chapter 8** - The Soul's Side 

Isshin once again insisted on keeping Rukia for another couple of days just in case. But after two days he realized there _was_ no other "just in case", and let her go. Though Rukia would never say it, she was glad to be out of the clinic. There was a lot of activity in the Kurosaki household at all times of the day, and even though she was in the clinic she still saw a lot of it, and it tired her out pretty quickly. Not that it took much to tire her out these days. She knew it was because the baby's spirit energy was growing, and she was trying to hide it. She'd decided not to mention that to Ichigo; she didn't want to worry him.

* * *

Rukia was just entering her fourth month. Ichigo had noticed that she was tired a lot lately, but didn't say anything about it, figuring it was just a normal part of being pregnant (because he knew absolutely nothing about being pregnant). So instead of questioning her about it, he simply helped her out whenever she needed it, and was careful to keep things quiet when she was sleeping. All and all, he had to admit, he felt kind of useless at some points, because she was handling everything on her own, really. But he liked to think he could sometimes help. 

Ichigo stirred as a pounding noise echoed through the small apartment. Who the hell was trying to knock down their door? And _why_ were they doing it so early? His first thought was that it might be Yukio, but then he remembered that one, Yukio was in jail, and two, Yukio, no matter how sick he was, had been polite when he'd tried to break in, and had rang the doorbell. Ichigo tried to think about who else he knew that actually knocked. His family and their friends all just barged in, except for Yuzu. She used the doorbell. _Jeez, no one knocks_, he thought, rolling over and pulling the blankets over his head. "Ichigo," he felt Rukia poke at him, "There's someone at the door"

"Very good genius," Ichigo muttered, "Ignore them, they'll go away"

The pounding continued though. Rukia finally lost her patience and tried to get out of bed herself to get the door. Ichigo grabbed her and pulled her back. "I'll go, I'll go," he grumbled, pulling himself out of bed. He dragged his sorry ass to the door, which was still being pounded on. "Knock it off already!" he said furiously as he unlocked the door and threw it open.

"About time! I was ready to knock the door down!"

"I'd believe it!" Ichigo yelled back, not quite registering who was standing in front of him. It was Yoruichi, in her human form. "What the hell are you doing here?" he said in a slightly quieter voice, noting that the sun hadn't even risen yet.

"A question I've asked myself many times, I assure you," Yoruichi muttered, "Listen, you need to get out of here. _Now_"

"Why-"

"The Soul Society's gotten wind of Rukia's pregnancy," Yoruichi cut him off, "And they're _not_ happy. Byakuya's out for your blood from what I've heard"

"Ah...oh crap," Ichigo felt the color drain from his face. Yoruichi nodded. "Well...what can we do?" he said after a second. "I mean, we've talked about this, but we always said we'd cross that bridge when we got there..."

"Well then start crossing, because they're organizing to come here _right now_," Ichigo ran a hand through his hair.

"All right. I'll-"

"Ichigo?" he looked around. Rukia was standing a few feet away, leaning slightly on the couch. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who else was there. "Yoruichi"

"Hellos will have to wait," Yoruichi said, but Ichigo noticed a slight note of softness in her tone. "Ichigo, do you know what you're going to do?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "Yeah, I know. Or I kind of do. I'll figure it out. Thanks for telling us"

"Do you need any help?"

"No, we'll be fine. Tell Hat 'n' Clogs thanks as well," Yoruichi nodded and disappeared. Rukia's face was twisted in confusion.

"What's going on?" she asked as Ichigo shot past her into their room. "Ichigo, wait!" she stumbled after him, "What's-"

"Soul Society," he said shortly, yanking out a suitcase and throwing in clothes at random, "We've gotta get out of here until we figure out what to do"

Rukia's eyes widened in shock. Ichigo slammed the lid to the suitcase shut. "Wait, what are we doing?"

"For now, we're going for a drive," she looked confused. He didn't blame her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the apartment (she closed the door as they left), and downstairs, outside. Ichigo opened her car door and carefully helped her in, then threw the suitcase in back, ran over to his own side, threw himself in, and jammed the key into the ignition all at once.

"I understand this is a bad situation," Rukia said slowly, "But if you break the key in the ignition, it's not going to do us any good. Calm down"

"You're brother wants my head on a platter," Ichigo said as the car kicked into life, "I could take him if I wanted to, but to be honest, I really don't want to, especially considering he probably won't be alone. I can take Byakuya alone, and I could take Renji alone, but both of them together? I could, but to be honest, I don't want to find out the hard way that I can't. Just let me focus on driving, all right?"

She nodded silently, and leaned her head against the window, her eyes closed. She was asleep within minutes. Ichigo drove for hours. The sun was just thinking of rising. He was driving along a deserted road, thanking God that he was the only one there, because he wasn't going overly fast anymore. He was trying to drive and think at the same time, which was actually dangerous, because he was on a cliff, and it was a _loooong_ way down.

He heard Rukia groan next to him and watched out of the corner of his eye as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Her face looked unnaturally pale. "Um, Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you...pull over?"

"For what?" he didn't mean to sound impatient. But hell, he was tired.

"Please?" she rested a hand on her stomach. And Ichigo understood. As soon as he stopped the car, she stumbled out and over to a small patch of bushes, dropped to her knees, and threw up. Ichigo stepped out of the car and kneeled down behind her, rubbing her back soothingly. "Sorry," she muttered when she was done, sounding miserable.

"Don't be," he said, taking her shoulders and helping her stand. She leaned against him. "Guess the car ride didn't agree with you, huh?"

She shook her head and he led her back to the car, carefully helping her back in. "I'll stop for a little while," he assured her as he climbed in on his own side, "Need to save gas anyway"

They stayed silent for a few minutes, and then Rukia said, "So what are we going to do?"

"I can honestly say I have no idea"

"We can't just drive forever"

"No, sooner or later we'll have to stop for gas"

"Ichigo..."

"Sorry," he sighed, "I'll...think of something. Okay? Don't worry about it"

She looked over at him, then laid her head down on his shoulder. "But I _am_ worried. I don't want you to get hurt because of me"

"Me, me, me, it's always about me," Ichigo said, "I'm not the Soul Reaper who's pregnant, Rukia. Save some of that worry for yourself"

She rolled her eyes, but didn't answer. Maybe she actually _was_ worried about herself, but she'd never let on. "And _I'm_ not the one my brother wants to kill"

"I can kick his ass, don't worry"

"I think we established that I'm _already_worried"

Ichigo laughed and ran a hand through Rukia's silky raven hair. "Well, don't worry anymore then you already are, then"

She didn't have an answer to that

* * *

Ichigo never actually slept. His mind was always somewhere between conscious and unconscious, his ears and mind both torn, trying to hear someone approaching, or sense approaching spirit energy (even though he knew he wasn't any good at it; that was Rukia's area, but he wasn't going to bother her with it). He was surprised they hadn't been found yet, but he wouldn't complain. 

They found a motel to stay at that night, and Ichigo silently thanked God that his wallet had been in the glove compartment. It was now almost three a.m. Rukia was curled up in a tight ball at the top of the bed, her breathing deep and even. Ichigo was sitting down at the bottom of the bed, staring at the door, waiting for it to fly open and for angry Soul Reapers to burst in, intent on killing him or Rukia or both. His Substitute Soul Reaper badge was clutched tightly in his hand.

He jumped as Rukia started kicking him lightly in the back. "Go to bed Ichigo"

"Not yet"

"It's three in the morning. Now lay down or else"

"Or else_what_?"

She sat up fully now. The moonlight was shining in through a crack in the curtains, and hit her face, illuminating her violet eyes, and making her look...well, scary. And to top it off, she was smirking her usual, evil smirk. "Do you really want to know?"

He decided he didn't, and silently crawled up next to her, setting his badge down on the side table. "Good boy," Rukia said, laying down again. He reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his hands on her stomach. She was just starting to show, not enough to really be noticeable, unless you really paid attention. But Ichigo could feel the slight rise in her belly. He smiled, knowing it was his kid growing inside her, and fell asleep at once.

He was awoken moments later – or so it felt – by the door to their motel room flying open. He and Rukia bolted up at the same time, still tangled up in each other. "Whuzgoinon?" he said, his voice thick with sleep.

"I'll tell you what's going on," a familiar voice said, "You two are in a _lot_ of trouble"

Ichigo rubbed at his eyes to try and clear his vision, and saw, to his terror, Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki, the Squad Six Lieutenant and Captain, both standing in the door, glaring at Ichigo and Rukia. The latter blinked as she started to recognize these unwelcome guests. "Oh. Oh boy..."

Ichigo's hand flew to the table and he grabbed his substitute Soul Reaper badge, untangling himself from Rukia and jumping out of bed. Rukia scrambled out and stood close behind him. "Oh, cute," Renji scoffed, trying to hide how hurt he felt when he saw how close they were. "Come on Rukia, do you really think _he_ can protect you?"

Ichigo reached his free hand behind him and pulled Rukia closer to him. "Get out," he said, barely controlling the anger in his voice, "Just leave us alone"

"And why should we do that?" Renji asked, "You're in no position to be ordering us around, Ichigo"

"I'll order you around all I want," Ichigo shot back, "What the hell do you want from us?"

"We're here to bring Rukia back to the Soul Society," they were the first words Byakuya had spoken since he had entered the room. And they were by far worse than anything Renji could ever say.

Ichigo's shoulder tensed. "I won't let you"

"You can't stop us," both of them drew their Zanpakutous. Before Ichigo could raise the hand clutching his badge, though, he felt a small hand yanking him backwards, and Rukia took a spot between him and her brother and best friend.

For a second no one moved. Then Byakuya said, in a slightly forceful voice, "Move"

"No," her voice shook slightly, but she stood strong. "I figured it out. Ichigo's a Soul Reaper, isn't he? Technically he...he didn't break any laws, nor did I. We're both completely within our rights. He may be a Substitute, but still...in the end, it all adds up to him being a Soul Reaper. Therefore neither of us have done anything wrong"

Renji and Byakuya exchanged looks. "We were ordered to return you to the Soul Society-"

"For breaking the law, right?" Rukia - surprisingly - cut her brother off. "But if I didn't break any laws, there's no reason for you to bring me back"

Renji scowled heavily. "Rukia, you aren't...serious about this, are you?"

"Serious about _what_, Renji?" she turned her glare souly to him, "About this baby? Yeah, I am. Is that a problem?"

"You...you..." he didn't seem sure what to say to this.

"Well, you heard her," Ichigo said, though unable to do anything because Rukia had pushed him against the wall then pinned him there. "Get out"

"Don't talk to me like that carrot top"

"I'll talk to you however I want reindeer"

"Don't call me reindeer!" Renji's grip on his Zanpakutou tightened. Ichigo smirked.

"I don't even need to transform," he said conversationally, "I'll just cut your hair, that'll hurt you far worse than any Zanpakutou..."

"Look who's talking," Renji snapped, "Have you ever even _heard_ of a comb?"

"Renji," the Soul Reaper in question looked over at his captain. Byakuya had turned away. "Don't bother sinking to his level. We're leaving"

"My level-?!" Ichigo stepped forward, but Rukia threw her arm out, caught him in the chest, and threw him backwards.

"They're leaving, shut the hell up," she hissed.

Byakuya threw a glare in their directions. It was a look that clearly said, "This isn't over," but both he and Renji left without another word. Ichigo gaped at Rukia. How had she done that?

Before he could question her more fully though, he noticed that she was starting to shake. He rested his hands on her shoulders and pulled her into his arms. She smiled as she rested her head on his chest. "I'd say we handled that fairly well, wouldn't you?"

"We?" he repeated, "More like you. How'd you come up with that anyway?"

She laughed softly. "I pretty much made it up. I told you before, I don't know where this situations falls on the scale, so I just tilted the scale a little in a more favorable direction. But you know this isn't the last we'll hear from them, Ichigo. They'll be back"

He pulled her more tightly against him. "And we'll be waiting"

* * *

**Author's Note**: I liked typing the part between Ichigo and Renji, it was fun. Anyways, Rukia the Psychic is quite correct; this isn't the last from the Soul Society, they'll be back in later chapters. So don't come down on me for making their part so small. You can do that when you find out about all the trouble they cause - oops, shouldn't have said that! Anyways, hoping to get my review count up to 200, maybe a little more if you're nice. Think that could happen? - Sam 


	9. Normal

**Disclaimer** – Oh...come on...you'd have to be an idiot to think _I_ own Bleach

**Author's Note** – If you're really good at paying attention to small details, you'll notice that something about timing doesn't work in this chapter. It says in September, Rukia is entering her fifth month, even though she found out about the baby in June, only three months earlier. That's 'cause by the time they found out she was already about two months along. The baby was technically conceived in April. Okay, now that I've got that said (I, for one, am a stickler for details, so this note was more for people like me than anyone else), on with the story!

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**Chapter 9** – Normal

The school year started. Rukia and Ichigo had already decided they weren't going back. They had too much on their minds to worry about school as well.

"It's so weird, not going back," Rukia said on the first day of classes, "I mean...it doesn't feel right, you know what I mean?"

"I know," Ichigo reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist. Now in her fifth month, she was more noticeably pregnant. He brought his hands to a rest on her stomach, smiling. "We can always go back...in a few years, I mean. Pick up where we left off"

Rukia inched closer to him. It was almost scary, how perfectly she seemed to fit in his arms. Like they were two halves of a whole. "I suppose"

She didn't sound like she believed him. It was okay, though, because Ichigo didn't really believe his words either. Neither of them knew where'd they'd be in a few years. They were still waiting to see if the Soul Society was going to come after them again and try and take Rukia away. Ichigo scowled, remembering Renji's smirking face. He'd looked shocked when Rukia had said she was serious about the baby. Which led Ichigo to wonder...

"Hey, Rukia?"

"Yeah?" her voice was soft and low, and Ichigo had a feeling she was trying to go back to sleep. He knew she'd been more tired than usual lately, and he didn't want to put too much on her right now. He'd keep it short.

"Do you...if you had a choice, would you change this?" he asked, trying not to sound anxious. "Any of it?"

"Of course I wouldn't, Ichigo," she moved a little closer to him, curling up tightly, "Why, do you think I would?"

"Not exactly, but I was thinking about Renji, and, well..." Ichigo let his voice trail off. He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Don't listen to Renji," Rukia said, "He doesn't know anything, you know what Renji's like, he has to have the last word in everything, and he's always looking for a fight, he was just trying to get under your skin"

"He just seemed...surprised when he found out you-"

"He was just trying to get under your skin," Rukia repeated, her voice soft but firm, "You can't take anything he says seriously, understand?"

"Yeah, I know," Ichigo sighed, feeling a little better now. They laid there in silence for a little longer. They were silent a lot. But they enjoyed each other's company, whether they were talking or not. And anyways, the silence never lasted long. This was no exception,

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do we have cookies?" Ichigo groaned. He knew exactly where this was going. Correction, exactly where_ he_ was going. "Ichigo?"

"No, you finished them last night"

"Oh. Ichigo?"

"You want me to get you some cookies?"

"Please?"

Ichigo groaned and pulled himself out of bed. "Yeah, yeah, all right..."

He dragged himself out of the warm comfort of the apartment building, into the cool, early September air. He should have known better than to let them run out of cookies. She loved them. _Maybe I'll talk Yuzu into making a big patch of cookies_, Ichigo thought as he started the car and drove down to a small store on the corner,_ enough for the next four months_

He found Rukia's precious cookies – chocolate chip. They were the only kind she'd eat. One time he'd accidentally bought peanut butter. That night he'd slept on the couch, more for his own safety than anything else. Even with sleeping on the couch, he was surprised when he had woken up whole and safe the next morning.

He quickly paid for the cookies and made his way home, not wanting to think about what might happen if Rukia thought he had been gone for too long. However, when he got back, he was met with a very aggravating sight; Rukia had curled back up under the covers and gone to sleep. "Aw jeez," he muttered angrily, "Ichigo, go get my cookies. And while you're gone I'll just go to sleep and take your side of the bed. Sound good?"

He wasn't too upset though. He knew that Rukia was having a difficult time right now. She was as worried as he was about the Soul Society, and she was pregnant on top of it, so that didn't help. And anyways, she was going to want the cookies when she woke up. So it all worked out in the end.

Ichigo carefully shut the bedroom door and walked out into the living room. It was only about five in the morning, not much was on TV, except the news. But that was okay, TV was TV. And for him, it was company.

There was a small piece about Yukio, mostly just stating that he was being sent back to jail for a long, long time, and when he was let out he would no longer be allowed to go within fifty feet of Rukia or Ichigo, unless he wanted to be sent _back_ to jail. This put Ichigo at ease just a little. Not a lot though. There was still always a chance Yukio would ignore a restraining order. But Ichigo pushed _those_ dark thoughts to the back of his mind.

Sighing, Ichigo leaned back on the couch, grabbing a magazine off the table as he did so. It was something Rukia had gotten, all about different things for a baby's room (changing table, cribs, etc.). He started flipping through it at random, and once again he thought of what they were going to do. They only had one other room in the apartment, and it was about as small as a closet. Okay, it was a little bigger than a closet, but not much. It certainly wasn't big enough for a baby. They'd be able to put in a crib in there, but that was about it, really.

Ichigo threw the magazine back on the table and stood up to go inspect the room now. It was across the hall and one door down from where he and Rukia slept. He carefully opened the door, which squeaked slightly – he reminded himself to get some oil for the hinges – and stepped in.

When he and Rukia had first moved into the apartment, they'd thought it was perfect. It wasn't too big, but they didn't need it to be big, seeing as how it was just the two of them. They hadn't owned much – most of their furniture had been stuff Isshin had found in the attic of the Kurosaki house, like tables and the couch. So they hadn't needed room. And they hadn't worried about _needing_ room. They'd never planned on a baby. They had always been careful and used protection, after all. They'd thought they'd be okay.

Now though, Ichigo realized how foolish they'd been. Obviously the protection hadn't worked. Ichigo remembered what his dad had said once; it was good to use protection, but there was no guarantee in it actually working. To which Ichigo now said, very loudly, _duh_

Rukia woke up around eight. Just as Ichigo had predicted, she wanted cookies. Ichigo was very glad he had gone and got them now. She sat on the couch, munching the cookies and flipping idly through the same magazine Ichigo had looked at when he first woke up. "I like this crib," she pointed to one of the pictures in the magazine.

"Don't you think it's kinda small?"

"So is the room we're gonna be using," she reminded him, "If we want to be able to fit more than one thing in there, it's going to _need_to be small"

Ichigo sighed in defeat and nodded. "Yeah, all right. Do you think we should start maybe, I dunno...think about buying stuff for the baby?"

Rukia's eyes continued to skim the page of the magazine. "Yes, probably. But I'm not sure...I mean, we still have to think about money, don't we?"

Ichigo leaned against the counter, running a hand through his spiky orange hair. They had to think about a lot, apparently. "You know, I was looking at that room earlier...it's really small"

"So what can we do?" Rukia looked over the magazine at him, "Absolutely nothing, that's what. We can't afford to move into a new place right now, and even if we could-"

"Moving right now's a bad idea, I know," Ichigo shook his head, "Yeah, I know. I guess all we can really do right now is try and make the room work. Maybe sometime after the baby's born we can find a bigger apartment"

Rukia nodded, her eyes downcast. At that time, they both had the same thought going through their mind; they had _way_ too much to think about. Rukia grabbed another cookie, munching on it absentmindedly.

"You know, if my dad did an ultrasound, he might be able to tell what the gender of the baby is," Ichigo said, trying to get Rukia's mind onto something new, "If not now, then soon. Do we wanna know what it is?"

Rukia's face twisted into a look of deep concentration. "No," she finally said, "I mean, if you want to know, then we can find out, but I'm not really interested in knowing. I'd rather wait and be surprised"

Ichigo nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah. Being surprised sounds good to me too"

Sighing, Rukia stood up and stretched. The second she did so, her legs gave out and she stumbled forward. Ichigo's eyes widened and he sprang forward, grabbing her right before she hit the ground. He pulled her up again and she laid her head against his chest. "I'm fine," she muttered her assurance, "Don't worry about me, just sat down for a little too long, that's all, I'm fine, really..."

Her legs shook slightly as she stepped away from him, but she stood strong. Ichigo tried to bury his concern. He didn't want Rukia to think he was worried, if she thought he was worried, _she_would worry. And he didn't want to worry her. "Do you wanna go lay down?" he asked, trying to distract her, "I can help you get back to bed-"

"No, it's okay," she cut him off, "Really, I've never been better"

_Yes, you have,_ Ichigo wanted to say, _Don't lie to me, Rukia.__You've definitely been better. You've definitely looked better too._

He was very uneasy about how pale she had become. But he didn't want to push her. Instead he allowed her to sit back on the couch, and after a second he joined her. They started flipping through the magazine together, every now and then pointing out something they liked. It was relaxing, really, sitting there with the girl he loved, looking at baby furniture, sometimes trying to grab a cookie (though he didn't try to often, Rukia usually slapped his hand away). It was relaxing, acting like, just for a little while, they were just another, normal, happy couple.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Just 'cause I don't feel like them having the baby _quite_ yet. Next chapter though, heehee. Not quite sure what I'm doing for that yet, guess we'll see when it comes along. Anyways, I know this chapter was pretty boring, so please, I beg of you, don't leave a review saying "this chapter was pretty boring", or any other variation of that. This was really just a filler chapter (you know, like a filler episode). I'm working up to the good stuff. Really. Oh just review. I've got my review goal for the entire story set: 350. Wanna help me make it? Oh, and the story isn't ending after the baby is born. It's really only just beginning /grins evilly/. All right, review! – Sam 


	10. A New Kurosaki

**Disclaimer:**I'm currently in the process of suing Tite Kubo for the rights to 'Bleach'. And I'm losing. Quite badly

**Chapter 10** – A New Kurosaki

The days passed and as they did, Ichigo couldn't help but notice that Rukia became paler and paler with each that went by. She also seemed extremely tired lately. Ichigo wasn't sure why though; he asked his dad if it was normal, and Isshin had said it really wasn't, but it depended on the pregnancy. Where Rukia had started off so bad, it could have had something to do with that.

She also – though Ichigo wasn't stupid enough to point it out – became bigger. On the mornings she asked him if she was fat, he could never come up with an answer that satisfied her, and he was forced to endure her moodiness throughout the morning. Those were the days he tried to get the extra hours at work, to avoid going home. Of course, when he finally _did_get home, Rukia was still mad at him. But he learned to live with it. On nights like those, he usually slept on the couch.

* * *

Rukia shivered as she rolled over in bed. It was mid-November, and the weather had taken a turn for the worst. There was actually a light cover of snow on the ground now, and every bucket of water, every lake, every bit of liquid that was exposed to the frigid air, froze over.

It was cold in the apartment, despite the fact that the heat was on. Rukia wrapped the blankets tightly around her shivering body. She curled up into a small ball and wrapped her arms around her legs. After a second she felt a slight tugging, and the blankets unraveled from her slightly. "Ichigo," she groaned, pulling one hand out and pulled the blankets back. Ichigo's hand caught the blankets and before long they were in a tug-of-war. Finally, annoyed, Rukia reached out her free hand and poked Ichigo as hard as she could in the side of his head. He yelped and reeled backwards, his grip on the blankets slackening. Rukia, smirking with victory, pulled the blankets back over herself.

"Fine," Ichigo grumbled, "Just fine. You win. I have to get up anyways..."

He muttered darkly as he climbed out of bed. Rukia smiled sweetly as she closed her eyes. A second later she felt a warm hand on her forehead. She opened her eyes again and looked up, only to find herself gazing into Ichigo's sharp amber eyes. There was a look of worry behind his usual scowl. "What-"

"You don't look good Rukia," he cut her off, "Do you feel okay?"

"I feel fine," she said, pushing Ichigo's hand away, "Just cold. And tired"

He didn't seem at all satisfied. "Maybe I should stay home today"

"You can't miss work," Rukia reminded him, "I'm going to need you after the baby's born, that'll be when you can skip work. Not now though"

The worry disappeared from Ichigo's face, leaving nothing but a scowl. "All right, all right. Just take it easy today, okay? And keep the phone on you. And don't open the door without asking who it is first"

"Yes,_ Dad_," she muttered, pulling the blankets over her head, "Jeez Ichigo, I'll be _fine_"

Ichigo sighed impatiently. "Rukia, I'm being serious"

"Yeah, so am I," she untangled her foot from the covers and kicked him. "Get out"

He muttered swears under her breath as he bustled around the room and got ready to leave. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll be home about five"

"Sounds good," she smiled as she nestled deeper into the blankets, eyes closed. "Have a good day"

"Yeah, you too. You want this door shut?"

"Nah, leave it open," a second later she heard the front door open and close, and knew Ichigo was gone. She kind of wished he didn't have to go to work, she got lonely during the day. But he couldn't afford to miss it. They needed the money.

They'd finally started decorating the baby's room a little over a month ago. Surprisingly, they'd been able to fit a crib and a bureau/changing table combo in there. But that was all. It was a small room, after all. But still, to fit in there what they had was an amazing feat.

Yuzu, bored one weekend, had gone to the mall and spent practically every bit of the money she'd saved on baby clothes. Ichigo and Rukia had both insisted on paying her back, but Yuzu had flat-out refused the money, saying that she'd enjoyed looking at the clothes. Ichigo and Rukia both agreed later that the money would find it's way into Yuzu's Christmas present.

Rukia, smiling slightly, pulled herself out of bed after about an hour of trying to go back to sleep. She made her way over to the baby's room, and leaned against the door-frame. A big part of her couldn't wait for when she had a baby to put in that crib. But a lot of her was still worried. She'd tried to put it out of her mind, but the Soul Society still found it's way into her thoughts. She didn't want to think about what would happen after the baby was born, what they might do. They'd left her and Ichigo alone, but that wouldn't last forever. She couldn't bring herself to tell Ichigo that, though.

She also had yet to tell him about the baby's spirit energy, and how it was effecting her body. She knew she should have, it would have alleviated many of his worries, but it would also have given him many new ones. She didn't want him to worry at all, and she certainly didn't want to be the_ cause _of his worries. So she kept her mouth shut.

Rukia allowed her right hand to drift up to her stomach as she felt the baby kicking. That had started about two months ago. The first time it had kicked, Ichigo had been resting his head her stomach. It'd nailed him in the ear. "It's already so much like it's mother," he'd grumbled as he rubbed the side of his head.

Rukia laughed, remembering that. It wasn't much longer now...

* * *

Ichigo swore under his breath as he made the slow drive home. The weather had taken a turn for the worst during the course of the day. It was practically a blizzard out. Wonderful. He leaned forward as far as he could, trying to squint through the snow. The last thing he needed was to crash right now. He was so busy focusing on the road he actually drove right past the apartment building. "Oh you're a smart one," he chastised himself as he slowly turned around and drove snail-like back down the street. Once he'd finally parked, he waded through the snow – which had already built up on the sidewalk – and inside. Shivering, he made his way up to his own apartment.

When he got in, he saw Rukia curled up in the corner of the couch, sleeping. The TV was on. Grumbling about how careless she was, he walked over and turned it off. The second he did so though, she jerked awake. "I was watching that," she said thickly, rubbing her eyes and looking around, "What time is it?"

"Just after six," Ichigo grabbed a soda from the fridge, "It's really bad out there"

She looked out the window, and her violet eyes widened. "It wasn't doing that when I, er..."

"Fell asleep?"

"I wasn't sleeping, I was resting," she threw a scowl in his direction, and just as she did so, the lights above them flickered and went out.

"Oh damn," Ichigo dragged himself to the window and looked out. There were no little pinpoints of light from the apartment building across the street. "Snow must have knocked out the electricity"

That was when he remembered they had electric heat. "Great," he muttered, kicking the wall. "Just freakin' wonderful"

It was pitch black in the apartment now. "Don't we have flashlights?" Rukia asked in a cautious voice.

"Yeah, we've got some in the kitchen," a second later he heard a yell and crash. "Rukia?!"

"I'm fine," she said, "I...tripped over the table. Hang on..."

He heard a drawer open, and a second later a flashlight clicked on. "Tada," Rukia said with a smile.

Sighing, Ichigo carefully walked over to where she was standing. "Yay, we got light. What about heat?"

He saw first a look of confusion, then a look of realization cross Rukia's face. "Oh...yeah. I think we have some extra blankets in the closet"

After making her promise not to get off the couch again, Ichigo grabbed the flashlight and navigated through the dark apartment to their room, grabbing some a pile of blankets from the closet and carrying them back to the living room. He scowled as he dropped the blankets on the couch. Rukia was in the kitchen, playing with a radio. "What are you doing?"

"It runs on batteries"

"I told you to stay on the couch"

"So?" Ichigo knew he wasn't going to win. After a minute, Rukia finally got a station that wasn't completely staticy, and walked back over to the couch, setting the radio down on the coffee table as she did so. She grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped it around her small body. The guy on the radio was saying that it was snowing (no shit sherlock), it probably wouldn't let up until late tomorrow, and the power was probably going to be out until then as well.

"Wonderful," Ichigo dropped down onto the couch, sighing and grabbing a blanket as well. Rukia instantly snuggled closer next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Going back to sleep?"

"I wasn't sleeping before," she informed him. She was out after about five minutes. Ichigo listened to the radio a little more before he too fell asleep.

* * *

A sharp pain shot through Ichigo's hand. He yelped as his eyes flew open and looked around. He saw Rukia's own, pale hand clutching tightly to his; looking up at her he saw an intense look of pain on her face. "Rukia?" he said cautiously, moving a little closer to her. It was freezing in the apartment; the snow was still going strong outside. "Rukia, are you okay?"

She took a deep breath, then said, "Yeah, I...I'm fine-" she cut off the rest of the sentence, letting out a yell of pain. Her free hand (the one that wasn't currently breaking Ichigo's) drifted to her stomach, and suddenly Ichigo understood.

"You're not...having the baby...are you?"

"No, Ichigo, this is all just a figment of your imagination," Ichigo withheld his impatient sigh, though it was with great difficulty. His eyes drifted to the window. He didn't relish driving in that...

Another yell from Rukia cut through his thoughts. "Come on," he said hurriedly, jumping up and scooping her into his arms. "Keep the blanket around you, it's cold out there, okay, breath..."

It was difficult, getting to the car when they got outside. But Ichigo managed, shoving his way through the snow. They had to get to the clinic. He yanked the Rukia's car door open and quickly but carefully set her down. "Ichigo..." her eyes were wide with fear and pain.

"Don't worry," he slammed her car door and quickly went over to his own side. This wasn't ideal driving conditions, but he didn't have much of choice.

With some difficulty, he pulled out of his parking spot and took off down the street. "Ichigo!" Rukia hissed, her voice wracked with pain, "Slow_ down_, you're gonna crash"

"I will _not_," he shot back, "Unless you wanna have the baby in the car, just be quiet and let me drive"

She started to retort, then winced as another contraction shot through her body. She bit her lip, trying not to scream, and Ichigo felt the anger drain out of him. "Don't worry," he said in a slightly calmer voice. "It'll be okay"

And it was, until they turned onto the road for the clinic. Ichigo had slowed down a little, enough so that it wasn't scaring Rukia anymore. But it didn't matter. When he hit the patch of ice he still spun out. "_Ichigo!_" Rukia's voice was just barely audible over the screeching tires and the roar of the wind.

The car jerked to a stop very suddenly. Both Rukia and Ichigo were thrown forward, but thankfully they were both wearing seat belts. Ichigo twisted around in his seat to look out the back window, and saw that the back end of the car had spun into a telephone pole. "Wonderful," he muttered, looking back at Rukia, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. After a second, Ichigo unbuckled first himself, then Rukia, and got out of the car. "W-Where are you going?" she asked, sounding worried. He walked around to her side of the car and opened the door.

"The clinic's just down the street, I can carry you," making sure the blanket was still tightly wrapped around her body, Ichigo picked her up and took off down the street. The sign for the clinic came into view, and he saw lights on in the house.

As he started up the driveway, the front door opened. Isshin's eyes widened in surprise when he saw his son and Rukia. "What's going on? Was that _your_ car we heard-?"

"Dad, shut up," Ichigo snapped as he approached, "Rukia's having the baby"

Yuzu peered out from behind her father, eyes wide. "She...what?" Isshin asked, confused, "But, it's early-"

"I don't think it matters," Ichigo cut him off as Rukia winced again. A small whimper escaped her lips; Ichigo could tell she was trying not to scream. "Are you going to let us in or what? It's cold out here!"

Isshin and Yuzu, still gaping, quickly stepped aside so Ichigo could walk in. Isshin jumped into action. "Okay, bring her into the clinic, we'll start prepping her...Yuzu, do you still want to help?"

Ichigo's eager little sister nodded, her face the picture of concentration. Karin, who was standing in the door to the clinic, said she also wanted to help, and with that they made their way into the clinic.

The next thirty minutes were hectic. Ichigo wasn't quite sure what his family was doing, but on the other hand he didn't particularly care either. He stood next to Rukia, his hand (which felt broken now) clutched tightly in hers as she tried not to yell out during the contractions. "It's okay," Ichigo muttered, "To yell, I mean. If you want..."

But she shook her head. She was stubborn one, Rukia was. "All right," Isshin said finally, "Rukia, this time when the contraction comes I want you to push. Okay?"

She nodded, not wanting to open her mouth and try to speak. Rukia had felt pain before. She'd felt the physical pain of hollow fangs ripping through her flesh. She'd felt the emotional pain in the aftermath of Yukio raping her. But somehow, none of those things could quite compare to the pain she was going through right then.

As another contraction wracked her small body, she did exactly as Isshin said, and pushed. The pain that shot through her was almost unbearable, and she tightened her grip on Ichigo's hand (she was surprised she hadn't heard his bones cracking yet, she knew she was clutching it quite hard).

Ichigo had to admit, he was actually in awe of Rukia. He could tell she was in a _lot_ of pain, but she'd still managed to keep from screaming. Of course, he thought he deserved a little credit for not yelling as well, considering the death grip she had him in. He wouldn't complain though...

He kept his eyes on Rukia, muttering reassurances to her and pushing strands of hair out of her eyes. Sweat was beading on her forehead, soaking her hair. "Just a little more..." Isshin was saying, "Come on Rukia, you can do this..."

The girl in question nodded and squeezed her eyes tightly shut, her face a picture of pain. A minute later, a loud cry echoed through the room, and Rukia fell back on her pillows, breathing hard. "It's a boy!" Isshin was saying, "A baby boy, congratulations you two!"

Ichigo smiled as he looked away from Rukia. The baby was bundled in a white towel. He was very small; Ichigo could just barely make him out.

Ichigo looked back at Rukia. Her head had fallen onto her shoulder, her eyes closed. Ichigo leaned over, closer to her, and realized something very disturbing; she wasn't breathing.

* * *

**A special note to XxDoctorxX: **You'll recall what I said about going into hiding after I finished this chapter...well...if I'm not in school on Monday, an angry mob found me

**Author's Note:**Anyways, review...and remember...if I die, you'll never find out what happens...please...I want to live...mostly...


	11. Hanging on the Edge

**Author's Note –** WARNING! This chapter is going to be mostly flashbacks. So if you're expecting something thrilling, think again. Sorry.

**Disclaimer**_** – **__Things I Don't Own –_Anything from the Bleach verse. _Things I own –_ The IchiRuki baby! (well, the one in this story anyway).

* * *

**Chapter 11** – Hanging on the Edge

Ichigo leaned against the wall, his head buried in his hands. His entire body had gone numb. All he could do was see Rukia in his mind, lying in that bed, still, unmoving.

Dead.

_No!_ Ichigo shook his head furiously. _No, no, _no_! She's not dead, she's not! She can't be. She isn't dead, she's_ not!

It was the only thought keeping Ichigo going at that moment. It was his life-line. If he gave it up...then Rukia was really dead.

Isshin had lost no time in throwing Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu out of the room while he worked with Rukia, tried to...well, for lack of a better word, try to revive her. Karin and Yuzu had taken the baby to clean him up and make sure he was okay.

Ichigo clenched his fists angrily. He wanted to know Rukia was okay. He _had_ to know.

"Dammit!" The fist he didn't even remember throwing slammed into the wall. He stood there for a second, breathing hard, trying to regain control of himself. He was failing. Quite badly.

"Don't leave me Rukia." he muttered under his breath. "Don't you dare fucking leave me."

_**-:-:-:-Flashback – Five Years Ago-:-:-:-**_

"_This is stupid." Ichigo muttered, slipping his hand into Rukia's. "Have you _ever_been through a dinner with my family? It's murder, I tell you, murder. I like you Rukia. I'd like you better if you stayed in one piece. And let me tell you, that isn't going to freaking happen if you go through this dinner. Are you suicidal or something?"_

"_Ichigo, I really think you're blowing it out of proportion." Rukia said patiently, squeezing his hand reassuringly._

"_If you say so." Ichigo still thought it was absolute murder._

_It hadn't taken long for Isshin, Yuzu, and Karin to find out Ichigo had a girlfriend. And it had taken less time for them to drive Ichigo insane enough to invite Rukia to dinner. And now, of course, he was regretting his decision._

"_Hello!" Isshin descended down on the couple as soon as they walked through the house. Ichigo gave Rukia an 'it's-not-too-late-to-run' look. But Rukia simply smiled and said,_

"_Hello there. My name's Rukia Kuchiki."_

"_It's very nice to meet you." Isshin said, holding out a hand. "My name's Isshin Kurosaki, and may I just say _thank you_ for giving my boy a social life – ow!"_

_He grunted in pain as Ichigo punched him in the face. Rukia turned her head away quickly, and Ichigo saw a smile spread over her face. And he softened. She had the most beautiful smile. Anything was worth seeing her smile. Beating his father senseless was just an added bonus._

"_Supper-time!" Yuzu said, not paying attention to her father. She had long since learned to ignore her father and his ridiculous whining and ranting. Rukia and Ichigo exchanged glances and followed Yuzu into the kitchen._

_**-:-:-:-End Flashback-:-:-:-**_

A small hand wrapped itself around Ichigo fist, which was still pushed against the wall. He jumped a little and looked up. Yuzu was staring at him, her deep dark eyes filled with concern and fear. "Ichigo, are you okay?"

"Do you expect me to be?" Ichigo said, not bothering to worry about whether or not he hurt Yuzu's feelings. He didn't care. He only cared about one thing at that moment.

"Rukia will be okay." Yuzu said in a confident voice. "Don't worry Ichigo. Dad'll be able to help her. She'll be okay."

Ichigo wished, more than anything, he could be as confident as his sister about this fact. But he just wasn't sure. He _wanted_to believe she would be okay. But jeez...she hadn't been _breathing_. And with everything that had happened to her during the pregnancy – almost losing the baby, being stabbed by Yukio, the car accident – the chances of her dying were – as much as he hated to admit it – very, very high.

"Rukia's strong though." Yuzu said confidently. "Rukia's really strong. I know she'll be okay. I can feel it. Can't you, Ichigo?"

_**-:-:-:-Flashback – Five Years Ago (cont'd)-:-:-:-**_

"_You're a strong person." Ichigo said. It was after dinner. Ichigo had pretended to walk Rukia home. Then the two came back, and Rukia snuck in Ichigo's window. Now they were upstairs talking about the dinner._

"_How so?" Rukia asked interestedly, kicking her legs back and forth. She had taken up a spot on Ichigo's bed._

"_You lived through dinner with those psychos." Ichigo said as if that explained everything. "I don't know how you did it, personally. I was ready to hit my dad, I mean, all those remarks he was making about grandchildren-"_

"_You_did_ hit your dad." Rukia reminded Ichigo. And he grinned._

"_Well, yeah. Wouldn't you?"_

_Rukia smirked. "Come on Ichigo. I told you were blowing it out of proportion. And I was right, wasn't I?"_

_"Maybe." Ichigo admitted. "How was I supposed to know you were right though? I don't exactly have any past examples to go on-"_

_That, of course, earned him a sharp kick in the shin. He had to work hard not to yell out in pain. Rukia smirked and said, "So do you think they liked me?"_

"_I think they want to adopt you."_

_Ichigo's family had taken to Rukia in a way Ichigo had never thought possible. It wasn't much of a stretch to say they wanted to adopt her. Ichigo was glad. As much as his family drove him crazy sometimes, they meant a lot to him, and he wanted them to like Rukia. He cared about her a lot, and he wanted to know that his family cared too._

"_Hey Rukia."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_I love you."_

_A small smile twitched at Rukia's lips. "I love you too."_

_**-:-:-:-End Flashback-:-:-:-**_

"She'll be okay." Yuzu repeated. "Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to come in and see the baby?" Ichigo looked around at his sister in surprise. "Please come see the baby."

Ichigo didn't want to see the baby. He could have cared less, really. But he followed Yuzu into the small room anyway.

The baby was asleep in a small, plastic hospital crib. He was small, very small. Already he had a head of wispy black hair. His tiny fists were clenched loosely on to the blanket Yuzu and Karin had wrapped him in. Ichigo stared at the boy. He was so young, so small, so cute. He was Ichigo's son. And for some reason...

Ichigo couldn't stand the sight of him.

It wasn't that Ichigo suddenly couldn't stand the idea of being a father. It wasn't that he suddenly hated the idea of a baby. No. It was the idea of thinking of what this baby might have suddenly cost him and Rukia.

_**-:-:-:-Flashback – Two Years Ago-:-:-:-**_

"_Ichigo, sh!" Rukia giggled as Ichigo slammed the door. "Do you want your father and sisters to hear you?"_

"_Who cares?" Ichigo muttered, pulling her towards him and kissing her. It was after graduation. Ichigo's father had decided to throw a graduation party. At the moment everyone was downstairs laughing and celebrating the fact that they had finally gotten out of high school. But Ichigo and Rukia had left the festivities early._

"_Ichi..." Rukia muttered against Ichigo's lips. Ichigo shushed her and they continued kissing. The kiss deepened. Ichigo soon found his hand creeping along Rukia's dress, trying to find a place to grab it so he could pull it off. "Ichigo!" Rukia choked suddenly and without warning she pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him away. Ichigo looked at her in surprise. She was shaking._

"_Rukia, what-" he was bewildered. She had never pushed him away before. "What is it? Are you okay?"_

_She couldn't seem to look him in the eye anymore. She crossed her arms tightly across her chest. And suddenly Ichigo understood. "Oh man, Rukia." he groaned, stepping forward. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was thinking..."_

_They had kissed a lot in the last three years. _A lot_. But that was as far as they had gone. It was as far as Ichigo had ever felt comfortable going, considering everything that had happened. "I'm sorry." he repeated, reaching out a careful hand and touching it to her shoulder. She flinched a little under his touch, but didn't push him away. He was grateful for that. "I didn't mean to...look, let's go back down to the party." He said finally. "Someone's bound to notice we're missing, come on-"_

_But as he turned to leave, Rukia grabbed him and pulled him back. "No." she said in a quiet voice. "Can we...not go back down yet? I mean, I know it's all our friends down there, but...I kind of just want to be with you right now."_

_Ichigo smiled softly and looked back at her. "Yeah. All right."_

_He wrapped an arm awkwardly around her shoulders. She didn't flinch this time. He took it as a good sign, and drew her into a hug. "I'm sorry." she muttered into his chest._

"_For what?" he asked, resting his chin on top of his head. "You've got nothing to be sorry for, idiot. Just...let me know when _you_ feel ready, all right? I don't want to push it?"_

_He could tell from the tone of her voice she was smiling. "Thank you, Ichigo."_

"_Nothing to thank me for either." he said, then added in a light tone, "Idiot."_

_That, of course, earned him a kick in the knee. "I love you Ichigo."_

_"I love you too." he said through gritted teeth._

_**-:-:-:-End Flashback-:-:-:-**_

"What's his name?" Karin asked as she watched run a hand over the baby's soft cheek. Ichigo thought for a minute. He knew Rukia had picked out a name, what was it again...

"Kaien." he said finally, remembering the story Rukia had told him. "Kaien Kurosaki."

"Kaien." Yuzu repeated. "That's a cute name."

"Rukia picked it." Ichigo scowled. Where the _hell_ was his father already? Why wasn't he out there saying that Rukia was going to be just fine? _Was_ Rukia going to be just fine? He wanted to know. He _had_to know? What was taking Isshin so fucking long?

Karin and Yuzu watched their brother, unsure of what to do. They had never seen him this broken before. Not even when their mother had died. And they understood. At least when Masaki had died, they had _known_she was dead. It was hard, but they had been able to deal with it. Rukia though...they didn't have a clue.

"She'll be okay." Yuzu muttered, twisting her hands. Karin nodded. She didn't usually take her sister's optimistic way of thinking seriously. But she _knew_that Rukia would be okay. She had to be. For Ichigo. For the baby. For herself.

She had to be okay.

The sound of a door opening startled the three Kurosaki children, and they rushed out into the hall to face their father. "Well?" Ichigo didn't waste anytime. "Is she going to be okay or not?"

* * *

**Author's Note –** Told you nothing thrilling happened in this chapter. Next chapter you'll find out whether or not Rukia lives. Just to add to my fun XD Anyways, I updated much earlier than I planned on. I dunno, I just felt like it. Review and let me know what you think! - Sam 


	12. Recovery

**Disclaimer**: Do I really have to keep doing these? I'm running out of funny ways to say "I don't own Bleach"

* * *

**Chapter 12** – Recovery

Ichigo tried to see over his dad's shoulder and listen at the same time as Isshin explained what had happened. Apparently Rukia'd jerked the wrong way in the car accident, and hit her head. There'd been slight bleeding on her brain, and then, during the birth, she'd lost more blood. She was okay now, Isshin was saying, but there was no telling what she'd be like when she woke up, or how long it would take for her to wake up.

Ichigo took it all in, sort of. "Can I see her?" he asked when his dad stopped talking. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in knowing what had happened. But he was more interested in seeing Rukia, and checking for sure that she was really okay. Isshin nodded and moved aside, letting Ichigo into the room at last. He said something about going to check on the baby and walked away. Ichigo didn't care. He walked over to Rukia's bed.

He hated seeing her like that. She looked so small in the bed of white, her face pale, her eyes closed. She had an oxygen mask over her mouth. The steady beep of one of the many machines she was connected to told him she was alive, as it monitored her heartbeat.

Ichigo took a deep breath and drew a chair up next to the bed and fell down into it. "Rukia," he whispered, taking her hand into his. All he could think about was how close he had almost come to losing her. "Don't scare me like that. I thought I lost you. You can't leave me though, remember? You can't leave me"

----Flashback----

"_It's a nice apartment," Rukia said dreamily as she curled up in Ichigo's arms. They'd just finished unpacking all their stuff, finally. Now, of course, they had to make sure it all got put in it's proper place. But that could wait._

"_Yeah, it is," Ichigo agreed, kissing the top of her head. "I'm surprised my dad was okay with us living together"_

_"Yeah, me too," Rukia laughed, "Are you complaining though?"_

_"Definitely not," Ichigo said quickly, "Trust me, even if he wasn't okay with it, I wouldn't care"_

_Rukia made a noise in her throat and leaned her head against his arm. "You know, it's been almost three years"_

_"Yeah"_

"_I don't think we'll be hearing from the Soul Society"_

_"Is that a bad thing?"_

_"No way," Rukia tilted her head so that she was looking into his eyes, and smiled. "I never want to leave you"_

_Ichigo smiled and wrapped her small body into a tight hug. "And I never want you to leave me," he muttered, resting his chin on her head. She leaned her head against his chest, sighing contently, and they sat like that for the longest time, all thoughts of unpacking forgotten._

----End Flashback----

Ichigo looked around as his father walked back in, the baby in his arms. "So what's his name?" Isshin asked, grinning slyly. How did he always manage to look so damn happy? "You gonna name him after me?"

"What'd the poor kid do to deserve that?" Ichigo asked dully, not all together kidding. It felt good, normal to be sitting there, teasing his father. That was why Isshin had said what he said. He knew how to get his son going. "Rukia decided on a boy's name. She wanted Kaien"

"That's a nice name"

"It's important to her," Ichigo shrugged, "And anyways, even if I didn't like it – which I do, trust me – we decided that she picked a boy's name, I picked a girl's name. So it doesn't matter either way what I wanted"

"What'd you pick for a girl's name?"

"Well, I was kind of leaning towards Masaki..."

Ichigo let his voice trail off, and there was silence. Then Isshin said, "She would have liked that Ichigo. She would have liked that a lot"

Ichigo looked at the small baby in Isshin's arms. A million thoughts ran through his mind. "I'm taking back my room again"

"I didn't expect anything less"

* * *

Ichigo, despite going to bed so late, was up early the next morning, long before anyone else. As soon as he was dressed he took up his spot in the chair next to Rukia's bed. And he had company too; Kaien had been waking up just as Ichigo came down, so he took the baby into Rukia's room, and held him while he watched Rukia sleep.

"That's your mom," he said in a quiet voice, "That's Mommy. You'll really love her, she's sweet, and kind, and funny...and you're a lot like her. Not just in looks either. The first time you kicked, you hit my ear. She hits me all the time, you know. Kiddingly, but still. I have bruises. You'll love her. I know she already loves you"

The baby stirred in his arms, and Ichigo couldn't help it; he allowed a small smile to play around his lips. Despite all his ill feelings towards this small baby yesterday, Ichigo felt so much love for the little being in his arms right now. He couldn't believe that this little boy was his. He was a father. This was all real. All of a sudden, yesterday felt like a bad, distant dream. Today was the real day, the day everything worked out.

Now if Rukia would just wake up and be okay, this would, without a doubt, be the happiest day of Ichigo's life.

* * *

Rukia's body felt incredibly heavy, as if someone was pushing a weight down on it, and she could barely move. It was extremely hard for her breathe. What the hell was wrong with her? She wracked her brain, trying to figure out what had happened...

She'd been in the clinic. She'd...she'd been in labor. She remembered hearing crying, Isshin was saying something about a boy...and then she'd felt really weird, kind of light-headed. And she remembered that her head had hurt...and then everything had gone black.

_Am I dead? _She wondered. She scratched that right away when she remembered she could feel herself breathing, all though it felt as if there was a lump in her throat trying to prevent it.

She gave up after awhile, and contented herself to just lying...wherever she was, and listening to what was going on around her.

She heard faint beeps on one side, and on the other side she thought she heard someone talking. It was so quiet though, she couldn't really tell. Then she heard someone say, in a slightly louder voice, "Ichigo, supper"

"I'm not hungry"

"You can't do much good just sitting here"

"I don't care. Take Kaien, would you?"

"Ichigo-"

"Yuzu"

There was a moment of silence. Then someone sighed an exasperated sounding sigh, and Rukia heard a door shut. There was silence, then Ichigo was talking again. "He looks so much like you, Rukia. Kaien, I mean. He's even got your eyes...which means I'll probably never be able to say no to him. All he'll have to do is look at me, and that'll be that," she felt his hand slip into her own, and then he said, in an even quieter voice then before, "You'll love him Rukia. I know you will. Please, wake up. Don't leave me now"

It broke her heart to hear him talking like that. Strong, stubborn, hard-headed Ichigo. And he sounded like he was falling apart. She couldn't take it anymore. She took a deep breath and mustered the strength to speak, just a little. "Wouldn't dream of it, idiot"

Her breath caught in her throat and she started coughing. She felt a pair of hands tuck themselves under her back and pull her up into a sitting position. The coughing fit broke, and she took a deep breath and managed to open her eyes, just a little. Just enough so that she could see Ichigo's face, worry evident behind his scowl. At the same time though, a bright light assaulted her eyes, and she closed them at once, groaning. "Ichigo-"

"Sh," he carefully laid her back down, "I'm gonna go get my dad, all right? I'll be right back, I promise"

She heard the door to the room open again, and hurried footsteps as Ichigo took off down the hall. She pushed herself up again, very carefully, her arms shaking as she put weight on them. She brought one hand up to her face, shielding her eyes, and attempted to open them again. She was in the clinic. How long had she been there, she couldn't help but wonder. It was then that she noticed there was something covering her mouth. She reached up to pull it off, but as soon as it left her mouth she found it a_ lot_ harder to breath. Panicking, she closed her eyes and tried to draw a deep breath. One of the machines next to her started beeping like crazy.

Moments later she felt someone wrap an arm around her shoulder and press the mask against her mouth again. She took a couple of deep, shaky breaths, and after a minute she felt a little better. "You moron," it was Ichigo, "Are you _trying_ to kill yourself?"

"S-Shut up," she managed to say, her voice shaking. She couldn't bring herself to say anything more though.

"All right, all right," a new voice joined. It was Isshin. "That was our little excitement for the night. Yuzu, Karin, you girls go and finish eating"

Shaken now, Rukia opened her eyes again, slowly. Ichigo, she saw, was sitting on the bed next to her, his left arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, his right hand pressing the mask to her mouth. Isshin was standing next to the bed, watching his son with great interest. Rukia found she couldn't look at either of them, and her gaze dropped to her hands, which were clutching the blankets. "Sorry," she muttered, her eyelids dropping slightly. Ichigo pulled her a little closer to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"You apologize for a lot of nothing," the-orange-haired man said, though he didn't sound overly annoyed. He carefully pushed her back down and pulled his hand away from the mask; it stayed in place, thankfully.

"It's all right," Isshin shooed Ichigo off the bed. He complied, looking just a little aggravated "Don't worry. We're just glad you're okay"

Rukia took a deep breath and allowed her eyes to close again. It was becoming easier to breath. "What happened?"

"I'll explain later," Isshin said, "I just wanna do a quick check on you, then I want you to go back to sleep. You need as much rest as you can get right now"

"How long was I out for?"

"About eighteen hours," Ichigo said, "Maybe a little more. Probably a little more"

He shoved his hands into his pocket, sighing as he watched his father work. He'd just found his dad in the living room when he'd heard the machine monitoring Rukia's heartbeat go off crazily. He'd freaked out, understandably enough, and was relieved to find out that it had just been because of her own stupidity. Ichigo clenched his fists tightly in his pockets, and scowled at the floor. Idiot. She seemed to enjoy scaring the hell out of him.

"Ichigo," he looked around as Rukia muttered his name. She was looking over at him, her eyes barely slits. He reached out and carefully took her hand. "Ichigo, I...I want to see my baby, please..."

"Later," Ichigo said firmly, "Right now just...rest, all right? I promise, when you wake up again you can see him"

A slight smile played around her lips as her eyes drifted shut once more. "Him, huh?"

"Yeah. And his name's Kaien"

"That's good..." her voice was barely a whisper now. Isshin smiled as he watched his son bend down and kiss Rukia lightly on the lips. As hard as it was to accept, his little boy, his little Ichigo, was a man now. Isshin could make jokes, he could treat his son the way he always had, but nothing would ever be the same. Ichigo was growing up. And as much as it hurt – and as much as he'd never admit it – it was time for Isshin to let go.

_You'll make one hell of a father, Ichigo._

* * *

**Author's Note**: And so ends my Torture of Rukia. Well...for now, anyway. So, just a quick heads up: the Soul Society will be coming back to haunt Rukia and Ichigo (and little Kaien) very soon. Maybe not in the next chapter, but the chapter after that. I haven't decided yet. 


	13. An Unfriendly Reunion

**Disclaimer**: Oh...I don't own it

* * *

**Chapter 13** – An Unfriendly Reunion

Ichigo leaned against the door-frame of Rukia' s room, smiling at her. It was just past eight in the morning. Yuzu and Karin had left for school, and Isshin was in his office, going over some records. Ichigo was currently out of a car (it was in the garage getting repaired), which meant he couldn't go to work. It was okay though, really; he'd have rather been with Rukia.

A soft groan brought Ichigo back to reality, and he looked around. Rukia was stirring. "Hey, Dad!" he called down the hall, "She's waking up!"

He walked into the room fully now. In his opinion, Rukia'd seen better days; she was still too pale for his comfort, and she simply looked too small, even for her. Plus she was still wearing the oxygen mask, all though Isshin had said they'd probably be able to take it off today. "Hey," Ichigo leaned over slightly as Rukia's eyes drifted open, "How ya feelin'?"

"Mm, fine," she muttered, attempting to push herself up. Ichigo quickly helped her into a sitting position.

"Ah, Rukia!" Isshin beamed as he walked in, "Good to see you awake, how do you feel?"

"Okay," she said, attempting a smile as she pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.

"That's good," he walked over to the bed, "You look a lot better-" _that's a matter of opinion_, Ichigo thought, though he wasn't dumb enough to say that aloud. "We're going to try and take the oxygen mask off," Isshin had veered off on another topic, "You look like you're breathing a lot easier now, don't worry though, we'll put it right back if something goes wrong. Is that okay?"

She nodded, but Ichigo saw the look of fear in her eyes, and knew that she was thinking about last night. Isshin, however, missed it. "All right then, take one more deep breath, hold it, that's it now..."

Ichigo wrapped his arm around her shoulder, holding her tightly as she closed her eyes. Isshin carefully slipped the mask off, then said, "All right, you can let out the breath now...just try breathing normally..."

Rukia took a couple of breaths. They sounded kind of shaky, but it was better than nothing. "Still feel okay?"

"Y-Yeah," she opened her eyes, and again, Ichigo knew she was just trying to be brave, but he didn't say anything. She seemed to be breathing easy enough, so he supposed it didn't matter.

"Good," Isshin smiled, then winked at Ichigo and said, "I'll be in my office if you need anything"

Ichigo rolled his eyes as he watched his father leave. "So..."

"Can I see my baby now?" Ichigo smiled, remembering his promise to her last night.

"Yeah, of course," he quickly went over to the next room, where Kaien was still sleeping in his plastic crib. "Hey kid," Ichigo whispered as he picked up the small baby. Kaien stirred and his eyes opened. He looked up at his father with a look of utmost curiosity, as if Ichigo was the most fascinating thing he'd ever laid eyes on. "We're gonna go see Mommy now," Ichigo said, "And Mommy's awake too. She's gonna love you..."

He quickly brought Kaien back to Rukia's room. Her eyes lit up when Ichigo placed the baby in her arms. "Oh," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "He's beautiful..."

"Yeah," Ichigo sat down and put his arm over Rukia's shoulder. It'd been three days since Kaien was born, he realized. And this was the first time Rukia had been able to see him. Ichigo couldn't help but smile as he watched Rukia. She was wearing a look on her face similar the one she'd always worn when she'd figured out something new about the living world. It was a look that used to fill Ichigo with unexplainable pity; but when he saw it on her face now, all he felt was happiness.

Kaien was looking up at his mother as if she were the best thing he'd ever seen. His violet eyes were wide with curiosity, and he reached on of his tiny hands up, trying to touch her face. Rukia smiled as she watched Ichigo reach over and start playing with Kaien's hand. "He's small..."

"Yeah," Rukia agreed, "But he'll get bigger"

"Not if he's really like you, he won't," Rukia elbowed Ichigo in the side. He yelped and jumped up.

"Hey, you wanna teach our kid that?!"

"Sure. Why not?" Ichigo scowled as he sat back on the bed.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened?" Ichigo's scowl disappeared. He didn't have to ask what she was talking about. Slowly, he recalled everything his dad had said before. She listened, no longer smiling. Kaien yawned and his eyes closed. He was more interested in sleeping then he was his parents.

"It's really..." Ichigo sighed and a ran a hand through his hair. "It's my fault. You could have died...and it was my fault. I should have listened to you, I just wanted to get here, I wasn't paying attention...I'm really, really sorry Rukia"

She looked up at him for a second, then closed her eyes and laid her head on his arm, Kaien still cradled in her arms. "You apologize for a lot of nothing," Ichigo recognized his words being thrown back at him, and smiled, reaching up a hand and running it through Rukia's hair.

"Just one of the things we have in common, huh?"

Kaien stirred in Rukia's arms but stayed asleep. The two new parents gazed fondly at the small boy, then exchanged smiles.

* * *

The latest events earned Rukia her longest stay ever in the clinic. While Isshin said that she was okay, he also said he didn't want to take the chance of something going wrong, and kept her for close to three weeks. Ichigo went home once in that time, and that was just to get some clothes for him and Rukia and Kaien. It took about a week for the car to get repaired, and once it was there was nothing keeping him from not going back to work. He knew Rukia was okay in the clinic with his father, but that didn't stop him from worrying, and he did his best to get off of work early so he could get back to her.

Finally, though, Isshin said she was allowed to leave. Rukia thanked him several times for everything he'd done, but all Isshin said was, "Oh don't worry about it, that's what family's for!"

"Bye-bye Kai-Kai!" Yuzu chirped, playing with Kaien's hands (the baby was strapped in his carrier), "You be a good boy now, you hear?"

Kaien stared at his aunt as if she were crazy. Of course, she was. After many hugs and a little more baby talk, Ichigo and Rukia were in the car, Kaien in his seat in the back, driving home. The sun had already set, and white stars dotted the night sky. Ichigo smiled as he watched Rukia out of the corner of his eye. She was gazing up at the stars with a far off, dreamy look. "It's nice, isn't it?" she asked, her voice taking on a most strange tone. It wasn't like Rukia to act like this.

"You _sure_ there wasn't any brain damage?"

She slapped him in the arm. Hard. "I was just thinking...with everything that's happened lately...I never really stopped to appreciate this world, you know? I guess I just kind of...took it for granted that it would all be here," she laughed, "I'm becoming more like a human every day"

Ichigo wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. He settled for merely being confused, and wondering why the hell Rukia was talking the way she was. Before he could ask though, she twisted around in her seat and looked back at Kaien, who'd been rocked to sleep by the gentle motion of the car. "It's so weird, but he hardly ever cries"

"You noticed that too, huh?" Ichigo asked, "I guess that's another way he's like you; doesn't want to show if he's in any pain"

"Are you sure he's not like _you_ in that sense?"

"No, definitely you"

"Oh I dunno Ichigo..."

The debate continued all the way back to the apartment. Rukia unhooked the carrier from it's base and they started upstairs. Ichigo fumbled with the keys (it was dark in the hallway) and right as he managed to get them into the lock, Rukia's free hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. "Ow! Rukia, what-"

"Don't," her voice sounded odd, though no longer in a good way. "Don't open the door"

"Why?" Ichigo squinted through the darkness to look at her.

"I dunno Ichigo, but please-"

Ichigo looked back at the door. Obviously she sensed something, but what? He couldn't feel anything, not that it made a difference; he'd never been good at that kind of stuff.

"Ichigo?" he now recognized the tone in her voice; it was fear. Ichigo hesitated. He didn't like to think about Rukia being afraid.

"Is it someone from the Soul Society?"

"I think so"

Ichigo turned the key in the lock. "Don't worry. It'll be okay"

He pushed open the door

The living room light was already on. And standing in the middle of the room were: Byakuya and Renji; the Squad Twelve Captain, Mayuri Kurotshuchi; and the Squad Thirteen Captain, Jyuushiro Ukitake.

Ichigo reached behind him and drew Rukia closer to his body, holding her arm. With his free hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out his Substitute Soul Reaper badge. "Now come on," Kurotshuchi when he saw what Ichigo had grabbed, "Do you really think we're going to fight you?"

"Captain," Rukia was gazing at her own captain, a mixture of fear and pleading in her eyes, "Captain, please don't-"

"I'm sorry Rukia," Ukitake certainly _did _sound it too, "But orders are orders"

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo raised the badge to his chest. There was a blur of white, and Kurotshuchi was in front of Ichigo. The Soul Reaper Captain slapped Ichigo's hand, knocking the badge away and under the couch.

"Sorry, but we'd like to get through this with as little bloodshed as possible," Kurotshuchi said in a snake-like voice. "Now, if you'd be so kind as to hand over the baby-"

"Forget it," Ichigo and Rukia both tensed, ready to fight. Both were fully aware of the fact that neither of them had their Zanpakutous, and they were facing three captains and a lieutenant.

Kurotshuchi sighed. "Fine then, have it your way..."

Without warning he struck, swinging his fist around. It caught Ichigo in the side of the head and knocked him aside. "Ichigo!" Rukia moved quickly to check and see if he was all right. Her moment's distraction was all Kurotshuchi needed; his hand shot out and grabbed the handle of the baby carrier. Rukia jerked back, intent on stopping him; he jerked his foot sideways and hit her leg, causing her to stumble. Taking advantage of this, he hit her just as he had Ichigo. Of course, Rukia was much lighter than her orange-haired boyfriend; the impact of the hit sent her flying head-first into the wall. She slid down and onto the floor, unconscious.

Ichigo, furious now, tried to pull himself up, despite the fact it felt as if his head was ready to split right open. He heard footsteps behind him, and a second later felt a foot on his back, holding him down. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Renji.

"So sorry about that," Kurotshuchi said, looking over at Rukia, "I guess I got a little...carried away," he looked down at the baby, "No hard feelings, right Kuchiki?"

Byakuya just nodded. "Hey wait a sec!" Ichigo said angrily, "Just what exactly do you plan on doing?"

"And why should we tell you that?" Renji asked, leering down at Ichigo. He loved having the upper-hand.

"'Cause that's my son you're freakin' kidnapping!"

No one spoke for a moment, though Renji pushed his foot harder into Ichigo's back. Finally, Ukitake said, "We're taking him back to the Soul Society"

"What the hell for?!"

"Jeez Ichigo, you really are an idiot, aren't you?" Renji scoffed, "Maybe _you_ didn't notice, but that doesn't mean we didn't; even during the pregnancy, that baby's spirit energy was strong, that's why Rukia always looked so pale and sick; it was working through her body and draining her energy. Now that the kid's born..."

"We're taking him back to the Soul Society to ah...run a few tests on him," Kurotshuchi picked up, "Nothing to dramatic, I assure you, your son will still be in one piece when we're done. But he's an interesting little boy; we wanna learn more"

Ichigo knew a lot about Kurotshuchi and his experiments; he'd heard a lot about them from Uryu. "Keep your fucking hands off my son!" Ichigo lost his head completely and tried to push himself up. Renji pushed his foot so hard into Ichigo's back, Ichigo was surprised the foot didn't go through.

"Oh be quiet," Kurotshuchi rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Didn't I just say we wouldn't hurt him?"

"You're not taking him to the Soul Society," Ichigo snapped, "No way in a cold hell. He's staying here with Rukia and I"

"Unfortunately, Kurosaki, you no longer have a choice in the matter," as usual, Byakuya spoke only a few words, but they left a cold, chilling note. "Consider yourself lucky; Rukia's allowed to stay. We could just bring them both back, but we're generous"

"Real fucking generous of you," Ichigo said angrily, glaring up into the cold, cruel eyes of Rukia's brother.

Ukitake shook his head. "Ichigo, you don't understand. You and Rukia will both be better off without this baby, honest-"

"After the hell we've been through the last few weeks?" Ichigo snarled, "After everything that's happened the last eight and a half months? You honestly expect me to just accept that?"

"It's like Captain Kuchiki said, Kurosaki," Renji said in a cold voice, "You don't have a choice"

"Let's go already," Kurotshuchi said impatiently, "I can't wait to get back to the lab..."

Ukitake gave Ichigo a pitying look. "It's for the best," then turned and drew his Zanpakutou, holding it out in the air in front of him. He turned it like a key in a lock, and a door appeared. Several Hell Butterflies fluttered out as the door opened. Renji pressed down a little tighter on Ichigo's back, watching the captains walk through the doors. Just as the doors were about to close, he sprang through them, getting in at the last second. The doors finished closing and disappeared.

* * *

**Author's Note**: And that's the end of Kaien Kurosaki _/begins candle light memorial service/_ esteemed people, we are gathered here today to..._/looks down and sees a note on the desk/_ Wait, wait, what's this...oh, well what do you know! _/smiles/_ This_ isn't_ the end of Kaien Kurosaki!_ /looks around and sees people with holding heavy-looking objects/_ Now, now...no need to bash my head in...er...I'm gonna go now. Okay? Bye! Oh, and review please :) - Sam 


	14. No Time

**Author's Note** – If you read the last paragraph of chapter 13 as _Renji_ going through the gate into the Soul Society, you'd be quite right. If you read it as _Ichigo_going through the gate, well...you're kind of wrong, actually. But I know at least _one_person did, and they pointed it out. For awhile I was going to work with it, but then I realized I really couldn't, so...yeah. Sorry for any confusion that might have occurred. Oh, and head's up – there are only about three more chapters left of this story. Well, two and an epilogue. That said, enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything...except the late Kaien Kurosaki...okay, he isn't late...yet...

* * *

**Chapter 14** – No Time 

Ichigo beat himself mentally as he carefully situated Rukia on the couch, and started wiping away at the small stream of blood coming down the side of her face, courtesy of her contact with the wall.

Useless. He was so_ fucking _useless. His son, his little baby boy, had just been kidnapped. And had he done anything? No! One hit and he was swatted aside like a fly, stepped on like an ant. Meanwhile the woman he loved had been thrown into a wall, and his child had been taken away to be experimented on, and probably never seen in the living world again.

To say Ichigo hated himself would have been an understatement

A soft groan brought Ichigo back to reality, and he looked around at Rukia. She was stirring feebly, her eyes fluttering open. "Hey," he tried to keep the emotions out of his voice. "How's your head?"

"Hurts," she muttered, sitting up and allowing her hand to drift upward. "Ichigo...is Kaien okay?"

Ichigo bit his lip and looked away. She'd been unconscious, she probably figured he'd sprang into action and saved the day at the last minute, just like he always did. "Ichigo?" Rukia's voice was questioning, with just a hint of fear.

"They took him," Ichigo bowed his head, his bangs covering his eyes, "They took Kaien to the Soul Society"

He heard Rukia's gasp of shock, but couldn't bring himself to look up. Silence filled the room for a handful of moments. "I'm sorry," _now_ he looked up, his eyes wide with shock. Rukia was staring straight ahead at the door, her eyes filled with tears.

"_You're_ sorry?" Ichigo asked disbelievingly, "For...for _what_?"

"I couldn't do anything, I couldn't help..." she bowed her head, her shoulders shaking with unshed sobs, "I always need someone else to save me, I've never been able to help..."

Ichigo knew full well that was a load of bull. But Rukia didn't look like she was in the mood to hear about it. Instead he just said, "That's not true...you've always been able to help-"

"No I haven't!" the force of Rukia's voice hit Ichigo, hard, and he remembered what his dad had said before; the first few weeks after the pregnancy, Rukia was more or less going to be an emotional wreck. This little event certainly wasn't helping anything.

Ichigo – who sucked at comforting people – did the first thing that came to mind; he wrapped both his arms around Rukia's shaking body and drew her towards him. She gave in, resting her head against his chest, and allowing her tears to fall, though silently. Apparently she wasn't going to be weak enough to openly cry. Typical Rukia. "Yes, you have," Ichigo said quietly, burying his face in the top of her head, "You saved me the first freakin' time we met, remember? And if it wasn't for you, my entire family – me included – would be dead right now. And there's more, you've done plenty more, I'd list it if I had time, but I don't so I'll get right to the point; you're not useless, you're far from it. I know right now you feel that way, and I can't really change that. But please, whatever you do, don't blame yourself for this; it's not your fault"

Rukia's small body was still shaking with silent sobs, but she seemed to have taken Ichigo's words to heart, because slowly, very slowly, the tears stopped flowing, and her body became still. "All right," Ichigo said, trying to sound soothing. It wasn't something he did often. "It's okay. We can't afford to break down now. I know it's hard, but we need to be strong if we want our son back," he reached a hand up and ran it through her raven hair, "We need to be strong for ourselves, and for each other. We'll go to the Soul Society. And we'll save Kaien. And while we're at it, maybe we'll kick everyone's collective ass. How does that sound?"

Rukia laughed and pulled away, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. "To be honest, that sounds like the best idea I've heard in a _long_ time"

She looked up at him. They spoke at the same time. "I'm sorry"

Amber eyes met violet ones, and they both laughed. "Always apologizing for a lot of nothing, huh?"

"You said it"

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Urahara waved his fan in front of his face, staring Ichigo and Rukia down. "You want to go to the Soul Society. Even after they let you both live, you want to go straight into their hands, and try and save a baby that means more to them then probably half the Soul Reapers?" 

"If you're not willing to help-"

"Oh on the contrary, how soon do you need the gate?"

"As soon as possible would be nice," Rukia said in an annoyed voice. Urahara tilted his head up so that his eyes were visible, and smiled.

"I'll get right on that," he disappeared down into the secret training grounds without another word.

"You two are serious about this, aren't you?" they looked around. Yoruichi, in her human form, was standing in the shadows, leaning against the wall with her arms folded.

"Of course we are," Ichigo was irritated; why couldn't people grasp this simple fact? "He's our son, why _wouldn't_ we be serious?"

Yoruichi shook her head, and the shadow of a smile crossed her face. "In some senses Ichigo, you haven't changed. At all"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm still flashing between the young idiot who would have been willing to take on every captain in the Soul Society at the same time to save the girl he loved," Yoruichi gave a quick nod to Rukia, "And the rash young man standing in front of me who's once again risking everything to save his baby boy. Like I said, you haven't changed"

Ichigo didn't even bother trying to hide his confusion. He wasn't sure if he had just been complimented or...what. "So you're both going into the Soul Society," Yoruichi continued, pushing herself off the wall, "And just what do you plan to do once you get there?"

"Break down every door that looks like a lab until we find the one our kid is in," Rukia groaned.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't talk," Yoruichi laughed.

"You don't have a real plan, do you?" the couple exchanged a guilty look. "You two were made for each other"

* * *

"Ooo, you're such a cutie, yes you are, yes you are!" Kiyone played with Kaien Kurosaki's hands. "You're so cute!" 

Sentaro looked over the report he was reading, thoroughly annoyed now. "Kiyone get back to work!"

"Captain Ukitake told us to watch him!" Kiyone jumped up, her eyes flashing.

"Yes, watch him, not talk to him and play with him and forget about our work!" Sentaro yelled back, "Now help me get through these reports!"

"Make me help!" Kiyone shouted. The yelling upset Kaien, who burst into tears. "Oh great!" Kiyone fumed, "Now look what you've done loudmouth, you scared him!"

"_I _scared him?! You're yelling too!"

"I hope you two don't plan on taking up babysitting as a profession," Ukitake walked into the office, a slightly amused look on his face.

"I still don't see why we have to keep the kid here"

"Because no one trusts him alone with Kurotshuchi," Ukitake reminded Sentaro.

"'Sides, it's Rukia's baby," Kiyone chirped as she tried to calm the screaming child down.

"Yes, that certainly as a lot to do with it as well," Ukitake sighed. Kiyone, who had been smiling and tickling Kaien, frowned.

"If they experiment on him...he won't survive, will he?"

"Chances are...no," even Sentaro looked disturbed by this thought. "It's a shame," Ukitake continued, "Rukia and Ichigo made a good life for themselves in the world of the living, and they were looking forward to having a little one to share that life with," he looked sadly at the baby, "But it was for the best. He never would have been able to live in that world"

Kiyone looked sadly at the baby. He was a real cutie, and Kiyone loved having him around. She didn't like people thinking she had a soft side (she wasn't Isane, after all), but this little baby – Kaien – wasn't just anybody. He was just a small boy who hadn't done anything to the world. And he was going to be punished. Where was the justice in that? "Anyways, if the baby's going to distract you from your work," Ukitake was talking again, "I'll find someone else to watch him until-"

"No!" Kiyone jumped up. "He won't distract me anymore, I promise. How long until the experiments start?"

"Captain Kurotshuchi said he needed about a week to prepare everything," Ukitake said after a moment's thought, "He's going to try his best not to kill the baby – that's what his orders were, anyway. And he said if that was the case, he'd need more time"

"A week?" Kiyone repeated.

"Yes," she looked back at the baby. He had a week to live. He hadn't had any time in the world, and now he was going to die. It seemed so unfair.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Why...yes, Kiyone_ does _have a soft side. Go figure XP Anyways..._ /trying to make self heard over shouts of "Rukia was OOC! Burn the writer for making Rukia OOC!"/_ **A) her baby was just kidnapped, how was she **_**supposed **_**to react? B) After pregnancy a person usually **_**is**_** an emotional train-wreck. Why should Rukia be any different?**_/Makes self heard over shouts of "Ichigo was OOC!"/_**A) Refer to my first reason for Rukia being OOC B)...deal with it! **As you can guess, I'm really not in the mood to hear flames. Any flames will be directed at my step-dad, mostly because I don't like him. Kays? Review! – Sam 


	15. End of the Line

**Chapter 15 **- End of the Line

Ichigo and Rukia had been in the Soul Society for almost a week now. And they were still no closer to saving their son then they had been when they had first entered.

"This is ridiculous!" Ichigo said furiously, slamming his fist against the wall of the cave they were currently hiding in. Despite the fact they had been there for a week, despite the fact they had tried beating the answer out of at least twenty Soul Reapers, they just could not for the life of them find Kaien. They were both very tense at the moment.

"Calm down." Rukia muttered. "We don't need you attracting attention. I'd rather avoid fights until we have a real reason for it."

Ichigo took a deep breath and tried to do as his girlfriend said, and calm down. It wasn't easy. Not when the fuse that was his temper was already so close to the bomb, ready to explode.

"All right." He said finally. "All right. Let's just...go over everything again. Everything we know that might let us know how we can save him."

"Right." Rukia folded her arms. "The people who came and took Kaien were-"

"That captain freak, your brother, Renji, and your captain – Ukitake-"

"My brother and Renji would never want to take responsibility for Kaien, no one would want to leave him alone with Kurotshuchi until the time was right-"

"Which would leave the thirteenth division-"

"Which we've already kinda figured, considering how heavy the guard is-"

"But there's absolutely no chance of us getting in. They've already proven that."

They'd tried raiding the thirteenth division about two days earlier. Yeah, they'd gotten in, no problem, but they'd been overwhelmed by sheer numbers. They could have, of course, just killed anyone who got in their way. But they weren't there to kill. They were there to get their son back, and nothing more. Any death would be unnecessary.

But it was sure as hell making their mission a lot harder.

"There's nothing more we can do now." Ichigo said. "We're just going to have to...wait. And see what happens."

"I hate that plan." Rukia sighed and dropped her head. Barely a second later her head snapped up again. "Who's there?" She called to the entrance of the cave. Ichigo tensed, his hand flying up to the hilt of his sword.

"Don't attack." Said a tentative voice. "I'm...I'm on your side."

Rukia narrowed her eyes. "Is that...That isn't you, is it Kiyone?"

Kiyone grinned sheepishly as she stepped into the cave. "Hi Rukia. Do you know how hard it is to track you?"

"That's kind of the point of hiding out." Ichigo growled, his hand gripping more tightly to the hilt of Zangetsu. Kiyone looked scared now.

"No wait." She said quickly. "Please. I meant what I said, I'm on your side, I want to help you. I've been trying to find you for the last week, ever since I heard you were in the Soul Society, but you've been too hard to find."

"Well that's one good thing, I suppose." Rukia muttered. "Why do you want to help us though, Kiyone?"

"Because," Kiyone said, looking down at the ground, "we've been taking care of your son in the thirteenth division for the last week. No one would be stupid enough to leave him with Kurotshuchi before the experiments begin, your brother and Lieutenant Abarai would never take them-"

"Pretty much everything we figured." Rukia said, folding her arms. "And let me guess, Kiyone; you grew attached to him, right? You don't want to see him die."

Kiyone looked half sheepish, half disgusted. "Yeah, yeah, I have a soft spot, go ahead, run back to the division and tell 'em Rukia. No, I don't want Kaien to die. Is that such a crime?" She paused for a moment. "The Thirteenth Division has seen enough death. The name Kaien is a curse that brings it."

Rukia gulped. "Yeah, I know. I know. I don't blame you."

Kiyone smiled softly. "This is all great and all." Ichigo said. "But this isn't helping us. Where is our son now?"

Kiyone scowled at that. "The Twelfth Division. The experimenting on him begins tomorrow. I've been trying so hard for the last few days to find you, because of that. If you want your son back...tomorrow is the last chance you're going to have."

* * *

"Lieutenant Abarai."

Renji looked around. Kiyone Kotetsu was walking towards him. What the hell did she want?

"Yeah?"

Kiyone bit her lip, looking hesitant. "I...we...need your help."

"We?"

"Renji, do you care about Rukia? At all?"

Renji found that to be an odd question. "Kiyone, what do you know?"

"Just tell me. Do you care about her? I know you used to love her. Do you still?"

"Where the hell is this coming from?"

Kiyone hesitated, then said, "You're a lieutenant. You can help them in ways I can't. You can get them to the Twelfth Division before it's too late. You can help them save Kaien. Now tell me, Lieutenant; do you love Rukia?"

Renji wondered how long Kiyone had been planning this for. Then he realized that it didn't matter. Images flashed in his mind. Rukia and Ichigo standing together in that dingy motel room, Ichigo protecting her, Rukia standing between him and harm. The two of them standing in their apartment together, Ichigo once again protecting Rukia, and this time their baby as well. Ichigo and Rukia being taken down, one at a time, and Kurotshuchi taking their baby – Kaien. Renji heard Ichigo yelling at them, demanding they let his son go.

Renji hadn't done anything then. But there was no way in hell he was going to lose out now. And if Kiyone could point him towards Ichigo and Rukia...

"Where are they?"

* * *

"How can I help you?"

Rukia and Ichigo exchanged surprised glances. There was no way this was Renji. Not Renji, who had scoffed at Rukia when she said she was having the baby. Not Renji, who had helped invade their home and capture their son. No, this most certainly _was not_ Renji. If that was Renji speaking to them, then Ichigo's hair was really black and Rukia was really six feet tall.

"Renji, are you...feeling okay?"

"Your hilarious." Renji muttered under his breath, "Fine, if you don't want me to help, I guess I could always just go back and tell everyone where you-"

"Point taken." Ichigo cut in, "Are you really going to help us though, or this just some elaborate scheme to _catch_ us?"

"That's the most I've ever heard you think." Renji shot back, "I'm going to freaking help you, okay? I'm as shocked as you are, trust me. So like I said before, if you don't want me around, I can make my services useful elsewhere-"

"Shut the _hell_ up already." Ichigo said angrily. Renji was obviously enjoying jerking them around. And they didn't have time for that. "If you have any useful information at all, spill it now or get the hell out, and we'll go find a new place to hide."

"Here's some information for you; experiments on your son will be starting tomorrow." the ground gave out beneath Ichigo and Rukia's feet. "And for an added bonus, for everything their worth, even if they've been trying to make it so the experiments are controlled, there's no way in hell that kid is going to live."

Rukia let out a small whimper, and Ichigo's large hand sought out her own, smaller one, and he took hold of it. Renji pointedly ignored the action as he went on. "He was being held at the thirteenth division up until now. He's at the twelfth at the moment. That's where they're holding the experiments, obviously. They're planning on doing a series. Probably about four or five. I can guarantee he won't make it through the first two or three."

"Shit." Ichigo muttered under his breath. Rukia tightened her grip on Ichigo's hand. He could tell she was doing her best to look brave. But she was as shaken as he was. Renji was still pointedly ignoring the moment. "We gotta do something." the orange-haired man went on, "We can't just sit around. Uh – stupid question alert – do you guys know where the twelfth division is?"

"Yeah, stupid question all right." Renji rolled his eyes, "Of course we know where the freakin' twelfth division is, moron. But _you_ should know that it's being heavily guarded. It'll be impossible for you two to get in unnoticed. You're on the most wanted list right now, you'll never get through."

"That's not going to stop us!" Ichigo snapped, his free hand clenching into a fist. "I don't care if they've got a hundred armed guys watching the place, I won't let them hurt my son, you got that?! I've had it with this whole damn place, interfering in our lives, making everything difficult, I'm on my last nerve with you Soul Reapers, I'm not letting you have my son!"

Renji smirked. He probably expected that. And Rukia said, in a low voice, "Ichigo, don't-"

"Don't_what_, Rukia?" he turned on her, "Don't be upset, don't say I'm going to rescue our son, don't even _try_? So what else am I _suppose_ to do then? Just sit back and twiddle my thumbs and wait for them to give us our son's _body_?"

Rukia's violet eyes flashed angrily. "Well, for starters, don't bite my head off. And also, don't freaking _yell_. You're going to attract attention that _we don't need._"

Well. Ichigo felt like a real heel. "Sorry." he said in a low voice, looking away from Rukia. "I didn't mean to snap."

"It's all right." but he could tell she was still a little upset. And he felt bad. He shouldn't have been attacking her and he knew it. At the moment, she was the only person he had, and vice-versa.

Well, they had Renji too. The crimson-haired Soul Reaper was watching them, obviously a little disgusted.

* * *

It was after dark by the time Renji returned to the sixth division. The truth was, he'd have rather just gone home and crashed. But he had a day's worth of neglected paperwork to do, and if he didn't get at least a _little_ done, Captain Kuchiki was going to be one very upset guy. And that wasn't something Renji wanted or needed.

In the long run, Renji supposed it was worth it. Though he had to kind of wonder one thing; once Rukia and Ichigo saved their son, what would they do? The Soul Society wasn't going to just leave them alone. They were going to have to hide. And even then, there was no certainty that they were going to be safe. It was going to make life hard for them and for Kaien. But the alternative was giving up and letting the kid die.

And Ichigo and Rukia would never do that.

"Renji," the crimson-haired Soul Reaper jumped a mile and looked up. Byakuya Kuchiki was standing in the door to his lieutenant's office, staring down him coldly. "You were gone all day. What was so important you couldn't even come to your division?"

Renji gulped. He hadn't counted on anyone noticing his absence. Stupid of him. Byakuya was a man of order, and if even one thing was missing – like a certain lieutenant – he would definitely notice. "I was...I was er...you know. Prior...engagements."

_Wow_ that was lame, even in his ears. He should have come up with a better story when he was helping Ichigo and Rukia plan.

Byakuya obviously wasn't impressed. Renji supposed he would have been better off just running himself through with his Zanpakatou right then. It probably would have been less painful then whatever Byakuya wanted to do to him.

"Is that the best you can do?"

"Pretty much." Renji gnawed on his lip, waiting for judgment to be passed. On the one hand, he wanted to live. On the other hand, if he wasn't_going_ to live, he hoped his death would be relatively painless.

"I'm not sure I want to know what you were doing." Byakuya said finally, to Renji's great relief. "Just finish your paperwork before you leave."

And he was gone. Renji nearly fell out of his chair as he sighed with relief. And he started his paperwork again. But he wasn't paying any attention. Every part of his mind was on...Rukia.

It was hard, seeing Ichigo and Rukia so close, so...together. And it hurt. A _lot_. It hurt knowing that Ichigo had the one thing Renji had always wanted; Rukia's love. But Rukia had never loved Renji. Not the way he had loved her. But Ichigo. Ichigo was a completely different story.

So why was Renji helping them? Their son, Kaien, wasn't Renji's concern. Their problems weren't his. What did it matter what happened to Kaien? What did it matter whether he lived or not? And why, why, _why_ was Renji helping them? He was risking his own life here, and for what? For absolutely nothing, that's what.

But – and it was a dumb excuse, but an excuse none the less – Rukia, for everything she was, was still Renji's childhood friend. And friends always stuck together.

* * *

Rukia could not, for the life of her, no matter how hard she tried, sleep. So instead she glared over at Ichigo, who _was_ sleeping, every few seconds. How could he sleep (and snore) at a time like this? Rukia felt sick to her stomach just _thinking_ about what they were trying to do. They were going to break into the freakin' twelfth division during experimenting, it didn't really get much more dangerous than _that_, did it? And Ichigo, for all he was, was freakin' _sleeping_. Rukia, meanwhile, just contented herself to sitting against the cave wall, her arms tucked under her legs, watching Ichigo sleep.

It wasn't that she wasn't tired. She was exhausted. But when she _tried_ to sleep, her mind made up images about what might happen, what could happen, and what probably _would_ happen. And she didn't like thinking about it. She especially didn't like thinking about her son, her little boy, being pulled apart piece by piece by those weirdos at the twelfth division. It was just plain scary.

"Rukia?" the girl in question looked around. Ichigo was sitting up, rubbing his amber eyes tiredly, and watching his girlfriend. "Why are you still awake? Get some sleep."

"Can't sleep." she said simply, trying to sound off-hand, "Too much on my mind."

Ichigo, of course, wasn't fooled. He could tell Rukia was freaking out. So he stood up, walked over to her, took a seat next to her, and pulled her into his arms. She sighed and leaned her head against his chest. "Don't worry." he muttered, pulling her close to him. "It'll be all right. I promise. It'll all work out. We'll save Kaien, and we'll go home. Everything will be okay."

Rukia sighed and allowed her eyes to drift shut at last. "Ichigo?" she muttered as she finally began to fall asleep.

"What's up?"

"Will it really work?"

"If I say it will, it will. Stop worrying."

* * *

"Wake up."

_Wham!_

_That_ woke Ichigo up. "Dammit!" he yelled, bolting up and upsetting Rukia, who yelped as she was knocked to the ground.

"Ouch! Watch it Ichigo!"

"Don't tell me, tell...him!" Ichigo shifted his amber eyes to glare at Renji, who had just kicked the orange-haired man in the side.

"Well you should have woken up when I told you to."

Ichigo growled under his breath as he helped Rukia stand up. "You guys ready or not?" Renji asked, sounding just a little annoyed.

"Eager are we?"

"Considering it's _your_ son we're trying to save, I figured _you'd_ be more eager."

Well that sobered Ichigo and Rukia up at once. They exchanged solemn looks and nodded. "Let's get going." Rukia said, her hand playing over the hilt of her Zanpakatou. _She_ certainly didn't seem too eager.

"Everything okay?" she shifted her violet eyes to look at him. And Ichigo saw so much in them. Too much to read at once.

"Let's just do this"

It wasn't an easy trip. Just as Renji had said, everyone was on the lookout for Ichigo and Rukia now, making it impossible to move freely. They must have hidden a million different times before they_finally_ got to the twelfth division labs. "Great." Ichigo muttered, "This place is _crawling_ with fucking Soul Reapers."

"Well what the hell do you expect?" Renji shot back, "They're not exactly going to be _lenient_ on security."

"Shut up both of you." Rukia hissed before Ichigo could retaliate, "Keep your mind on what we're doing here. We need to figure out a way inside. Ideas?"

In the end, the idea they came up with wasn't a brilliant one, but it worked out fairly okay. Renji created a distraction by running out and loudly proclaiming that the psychos of the twelfth division were trying to create a crossbreed between a spirit and a human, and that was why they needed Kaien and blah, blah, blah...he was good at passing for a crazy man. And he got _everyone's_ attention, drawing them away from the door, and giving Rukia and Ichigo a chance to run in. "Do you think Renji really believes any of that crap he's screaming about?" Ichigo asked as they ducked inside and away from prying eyes.

"Knowing Renji, yeah, he probably does – sh!" she pulled him around a corner and out of site just as two more Soul Reapers started around the corner they had been approaching. They stayed quiet and waited for the Soul Reapers to disappear.

"You know what I just realized?" Rukia asked.

"We have no clue where we're going?" Ichigo guessed.

"Pretty much. How do we find out?"

"Kidnap the next Soul Reaper that comes along alone and get them to tell us"

"Think it'll work?"

They waited until the next Soul Reaper came. It was a female one. She was looking over a clipboard intently. "Ready?" Ichigo muttered. Rukia nodded. "All right...three!"

Rukia dove forward and grabbed the Soul Reaper, dragging her into the shadows. Ichigo pushed the flat of Zangetsu against the girl's chest, pinning her against the wall. "We're gonna make this quick," Ichigo hissed, "Tell us where Kaien Kurosaki is, and maybe we won't hurt you"

The girl's eyes widened in fear. "I...I...he's in the second sector, third lab"

Ichigo and Rukia exchanged looks. "You know where that is?"

"I'm from the _thirteenth_ division, not the _twelfth_, genius"

They both looked back at the Soul Reaper, who was watching them apprehensively. "All right. So where is that?"

The girl gave them stammered directions. It didn't seem that hard (well, that's what Rukia said anyway; Ichigo couldn't understand two words the terrified Soul Reaper said). After a whispered disagreement, Ichigo and Rukia finally opted for knocking the girl out and leaving her there. Ichigo let Rukia do the honors; his Zanpakatou was too heavy to not hurt the girl. And after that they took off again, ducking in and out of shadows to avoid being caught. As they got closer to the lab the Soul Reaper had told them about, they heard crying. Ichigo's stomach did a flip-flop. "That's Kaien." he hissed. Rukia hit him over the head and shushed him.

"Come on, let's-"

"Hey, what are you two doing here?!" Shit. They hadn't noticed several more Soul Reapers come up behind them. They whirled around, each drawing their Zanpakatous. A second later alarms rang through the building. They'd lost the advantage of secrecy. Now it was time for an all out battle. Ichigo looked over at Rukia, and again he saw so much emotion built in her eyes, too much to read. What was wrong? He made a mental note to find out when they got out of there.

"I'll fight, you go after Kaien." He said instead. She nodded and whirled around, running towards the crying. The Soul Reapers that had found them started after her, but Ichigo blocked their path. "You want her, you have to go through me."

Rukia, meanwhile, wasn't eager for a fight. She ducked attacks, swinging her Zanpakatou only when absolutely necessary, and keeping her mind focused on one thing; finding Kaien. Which was probably why she sensed, a little too late, someone come up behind her. She whirled around, already knowing she wouldn't be able to block the blow-

"Ha!" And Renji ran the Soul Reaper through with his Zanpakatou.

"Thanks for the save." Rukia said gratefully. Renji just kind of smirked.

"I got your back. Move it."

And finally Rukia found the door she was looking for. She blasted it apart with Kidou, and found herself not facing one or two, but about ten different Soul Reapers, along with Captain Kurotshuchi. "Well this certainly won't do." The creepy twelfth squad captain said in a silky voice, examining his finger nails, "No, no, this just won't do at all..."

Rukia's grip on the hilt of her Zanpakatou tightened. Before she or Renji could do or say anything though, they were ambushed from all sides. "Get the kid!" Renji hollered, diving right into the fight. Normally Rukia wasn't one to duck out of a battle, but at the moment, Kaien was the only one that mattered. So she dove forward into the room, and found herself facing...Kurotshuchi. "Going somewhere?" He asked in his eerily calm voice. "If you're thinking of taking my test subject, think again."

"Leave her _alone_!" Ichigo appeared out of nowhere in front of Rukia. He looked considerably beat up, but he had definitely looked _worse_. "Go." He hissed at Rukia. And for a second she had a desire to say no. But then Kurotshuchi and Ichigo were fighting, and she didn't have a choice. She moved quickly, and finally found herself next to the lab table her son was sitting on. He was wailing at the top of his lungs, his face beet red and crumpled. His carrier was next to the table. Rukia, after a quick sweep of the room (everyone was fighting now), picked up Kaien and strapped him into the seat. The baby stopped crying as soon as he felt his mother's touch. Rukia's small hands played over Kaien's face, and for a second she was filled with calm and peace. He was safe...

_CRASH!_

The moment was broken. Rukia's head jerked up and she whirled around. One of the Soul Reapers had gone flying into a large tank. "No!" Kurotshuchi screamed, seeing what had happened. "You _idiot_! That was filled with unbalanced chemicals, if they're thrown off center, they'll explode!"

"Did he say _explode_?!" Renji and Ichigo shouted at the same time. And at that moment, a very loud explosion went off, throwing everyone backwards. Rukia threw herself over Kaien's carrier, protecting him from falling debris.

"Not_good_!" A Soul Reaper shouted. "We gotta get out of here, _now_!"

Ichigo ran over to Rukia and helped her up, then took the handle of Kaien's carrier, and they took off, with Renji close behind.

As they ran, the building crumbled around them. They ran in and out of falling debris, trying to move quickly and carefully at the same time. And that was fine. Until...

One second Rukia was at Ichigo's side. The next she was gone. Ichigo skidded to a halt and whirled around. Rukia, it appeared, had been hit by a piece of debris. Ichigo could see blood running down the side of her head. "Rukia!" he started forward again, but another explosion shook the building, and a large part of the ceiling came down. Right on Rukia. "_No_!"

"Ichigo, come on!" Renji grabbed Ichigo by the back of the robes and dragged him the rest of the way outside. Ichigo was still screaming like a maniac.

"Let me go, let me _go_!_Rukia_!" he shouted angrily, trying to fight off Renji. But before Ichigo knew it, they were diving outside, just as the rest of the twelfth division building crumpled.

Kaien was crying, Ichigo was yelling. It was your basic mass confusion. "Dammit Ichigo, calm _down_!" Renji shouted, holding Ichigo by the arms.

"Let me go, Rukia, she...she...let me go!"

"_Ichigo_!" Renji roared, "It's too _late_! Rukia is-"

"Don't you dare say it!" Ichigo threatened, finally pulling himself out of Renji's grip and whirling around to face the crimson-haired Soul Reaper, "She's not dead!"

But even as he shouted this, he knew, deep down, the truth. No one could have survived that. Rukia Kuchiki...was dead.

* * *

**Author's Note –** I originally planned on having a chapter before this, depicting Ichigo and Rukia's entrance into the Soul Society, and showing some fights. But then I realized that I had absolutely no ideas for it. So I just dove straight into this. Now for the fun part: How many people want to kill me?

Hehehe...

Next up's the epilogue. Then after that...well, you'll see, won't you? Review please – Sam


	16. Epilogue — A Moment in Time

**To anyone who said (or thought) that it was stupid Ichigo was beat by normal Soul Reapers: **Who said anything about him being _beat_? I just said he couldn't fight full strength because he didn't want to kill anyone (or at any rate Rukia did want him to). He certainly wasn't beat, that's just dumb.

* * *

**Epilogue – **A Moment in Time

_**-:-:-:-:-Three Years Later-:-:-:-:-**_

"One more story Daddy!" Ichigo Kurosaki said, smiling and resting a hand on three-year-old Kaien Kurosaki's messy black hair.

"No more stories, buddy. Bed-time. You're starting pre-school tomorrow, remember? You have to be all nice and rested for it," Kaien grinned.

"'Kay Daddy." And he nestled down under the covers. Ichigo was sure someday he was going to get lost under that huge of comforter of his. "Hey Daddy?"

"Yeah bud?"

"Can we look at some more pictures?" Ichigo knew exactly what kind of pictures his son wanted to look at. And there was no way he could say no. Kaien knew that. He always seemed to pull this right before bedtime.

"Of course we can. But only for a few minutes." He left and returned a minute later with a thick, leather-bound photo album. He sat down on his son's bed and opened the album.

"There's Mommy!" Kaien chirped, pointing a small finger at the first picture on the page. It was one of Ichigo and Rukia, standing outside Urahara's shop (why they had taken it there, Ichigo didn't remember). "Mommy was really short compared to you, Daddy."

"Yeah, I told her that too." Ichigo said, smiling as he turned the page of the album. "She used to hit me for it."

"Mommy hit you?"

"Only because she loved me"

Kaien didn't look like he understood what his father had said. "Mommy hit you because she loved you?" He asked.

"Love's a funny thing Kai." Ichigo said, jostling his son's hair again. "Don't worry, you'll understand someday, when you fall in love with a girl who insists on beating you."

"Yuck!" Kaien made a face similar to the one he made when Ichigo made him eat vegetables, then grinned as he looked at another picture. It was a solo shot of Rukia. Yuzu had taken it on a trip to the beach. Rukia looked incredibly embarrassed in her bathing suit; her face was bright red (of course, that might have also been due to the fact that Ichigo had just said she looked cute when she was embarrassed). "Daddy." Kaien said after a minute. "You said Mommy left, right? Does that mean she'll come back someday?"

Ichigo's heart clenched. "No, buddy. Mommy left, and she...she went somewhere she can't come back from"

"Oh," Kaien looked very put off by this. Then, "Did Mommy love me?"

"Mommy loved you a lot," Ichigo assured his son. "She loved you so much. She loved you too much, I think. She loved you enough to do anything to save you. I don't want you to ever think otherwise, understand?" Kaien nodded. "Good. Come on then. Bedtime"

Five minutes later, Ichigo closed the door to his sleeping son's room, and tip-toed downstairs to the kitchen to make some coffee.

It had been three years. The Soul Society (partially out of guilt, and partially due to the fact they were under heavy fire from the sixth squad captain and lieutenant) had agreed to leave Ichigo and Kaien alone at last. A little too late, of course. It hadn't save Rukia's life, or Ichigo the pain. But at least he wouldn't have to spend every day wondering if Kaien was still going to be around when he got home from work.

Not that Ichigo had been around for the negotiations. He had left pretty much right after they had gotten out of the twelfth division, and Renji had finally calmed him down. The same Soul Reaper had come to Ichigo in the living world about half a day later (despite the fact that Ichigo had told Renji he never wanted to see a Soul Reaper near him again) to inform him of the decision. But Ichigo couldn't face the Soul Society anymore. He hadn't even stuck around for them to find Rukia's body. He wouldn't have been able to look at it. He didn't want to have to.

The news had been a crushing blow to Ichigo's friends and family. Yuzu in particular (who had loved Rukia like the older sister she had always wanted) was devastated. They had decided, in the end, not to have a funeral. Where there was no body (and Renji had said, considering the condition the twelfth division building was in, the chances of there_ever_ being a body were slim), they hadn't been able to bring themselves to. It would have been nice to have a memorial. But at the same time...it would have been admitting she was really dead.

And even though it was true, they didn't want to admit it.

Ichigo sat down at the kitchen table when he finished pouring his coffee, and stared at the photo album. He and Kaien no longer lived in the small apartment Ichigo and Rukia had shared. They'd found a small house on the outskirts of Karakura Town that was in their price range right after Kaien turned one, and Ichigo had taken it. He was glad. He hadn't been able to live in that apartment. Every bit of it was Rukia to him.

Page by page, Ichigo looked slowly through the photo album. He had made it specifically for Kaien, who had never known his mother and never would. But Ichigo had plenty of pictures. And if they were all Kaien would ever have, then Ichigo would make sure he would have them. Kaien deserved more, so much more. But this was all he had. It was so unfair.

Tears stung Ichigo's brilliant amber eyes, his fists clenched. And, in a moment of blind anger, he slammed his fist down angrily on the table, upsetting his coffee. "Dammit!" he said furiously, pounding his fist into the palm of his hand. He jumped up snatched the photo album off the table before the coffee puddle hit it. It wasn't the fact his coffee spilled that upset him. It was...everything else. It was the Soul Society and the position they had put him in, having to raise his son all on his own. It was the position they had put_ Kaien _in. Kaien, the little boy who came so close to being Kurotshuchi's next lab experiment. Kaien, the little boy who was growing up without a mother, because she had risked everything to save him, and in the end it had killed her, but not him. And – most importantly – Ichigo was upset with himself.

Why hadn't he been more careful? Why hadn't he kept a closer eye on Rukia? Why hadn't he noticed she wasn't at his side the moment she disappeared from it? Why had he been so careless? Why had he let Renji hold him back when he tried to help her? Why did this have to happen? Why had he _let_ this happen?

Why had he let the Soul Society take Kaien in the first place?

That was the question that would haunt Ichigo forever. If he had just been faster in the first place, he could have stopped everything. If he had been stronger when the three captains and the lieutenant had attacked, Rukia would still be alive, Kaien would still have a mother, and everything would be...normal.

"Dammit," Ichigo muttered again as tears spilled over. He didn't like crying. It made him look weak. But at the moment he _felt_weak, so he supposed it was okay.

"Daddy?" Ichigo looked around. Kaien was standing in the door of the kitchen, a blue blanket clutched in his small hands. He was looking up at Ichigo through his bright violet eyes, the eyes that resembled Rukia's so much. Too much.

"Sorry Kaien." Ichigo said quickly, rubbing his eyes. Kaien didn't need to see his daddy crying. "Did I wake you up?"

"Daddy, are you sad?" Kaien asked, bypassing the question. Ichigo sighed and sat down again, trying to calm himself. He patted his lap, and Kaien walked over and crawled into his father's lap. The small boy reached up and rubbed a stray tear away from Ichigo's face. "Are you sad because of Mommy? Please don't be sad Daddy."

Ichigo smiled and wrapped his son in a tight hug. "How can I be sad when I have you around, big guy?"

The photo album was still open in Ichigo's hands. He looked over Kaien's shoulder at the pictures. Rukia's violet eyes looked back at him. A moment in time, captured forever. A moment in time that would have to last one small boy a lifetime, because it was all he would ever see. One moment in time...that would never fade away, even though the person trapped in the moment had.

"Love you Kaien."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Ichigo stared down at the picture. _I love you Rukia._

And he could have sworn he heard her voice saying, in his head, _I love you too, Ichigo. Please, stay strong._

_I will. But tell me Rukia...was it really worth the risk?_

* * *

**Author's Note – **Yes, Rukia is actually dead! I'm sure someone out there was expecting her to come back in the epilogue. But...no. No appearances. Sorry. If I tell you there's a sequel, will you let me live? 'Cause yes, there _is_ a sequel to this, believe it or not. It's called _What If_. You might like it. Okay. Really. Put the knife away. I didn't like killing of Rukia, trust me. But...it had to be done. Okay, really, put the knife away!

**Some Emotional Stuff from ForeverSam** – I don't usually say too much about my feelings, but at the end of my stories, I like to do a little thing. So here it is for this one: thank you so much for all your reviews and encouragement/death threats. They really motivated me to keep going, even when I felt like giving up on the story (especially those death threats, lol). So thank you. Thank you all very much. You're all wonderful, wonderful people, and without you, this story wouldn't exist

Oh, before I go, just so you feel more inclined to read the sequel (despite the fact you're probably planning my murder right now), here's a quick summary:

**Title**: What If  
**Rating**: K or T (Haven't decided yet)  
**Summary**: Ichigo spent eight years wondering what if. What would happen if one of his 'what ifs' came true?

All right then. The more reviews I get, the more inclined I might feel to put up the sequel (if you want it). So...review! – Sam


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